Federal election campaign in New Brunswick to ramp up

With summer vacations over, many political observers say voters are more likely to tune in to the campaign and the campaigns themselves will shift into higher gear.

In New Brunswick, the Conservatives won out of eight out of 10 ridings in the 2011 election, some of them because of vote splits between the Liberals and NDP.

The Liberals are hoping to bounce back in their traditionally strong areas and many of the party's candidates were campaigning months before the election was called.

"All I can do is continue to do what we have been doing since the start of January, which is knocking on as many doors as possible right clear across this riding,"said Matt DeCourcey, who isrunning for the party in Fredericton.

The wildcard in New Brunswick is the NDP, which is leading by a sliver in many national polls. The party's best finish in the province was in 1997 when it won two seats.

CandidateSharon Scott-Levesque in Fredericton is telling voters the NDP has a chance to win.

"What we're encouraging people to know is that we have been trending in the polls to form government in October, and we're very pleased to inform them of that,"she said.

Conservative candidates have been avoiding most interview requests, but the party can't be counted out.

NDP growth and a Liberal rebound could still produce a split of the anti-Tory vote, giving them a chance to hold on to several ridings.

The election will be held Oct. 19.