Lengthy election campaign could boost voter turnout

It is Labour Day and that means the second phase of the federal election campaign is about to shift into gear.

The 78-day campaign started on Aug. 2, making it one of the longest federal election periods in Canadian history.

The party leaders have been crisscrossing the country, trying to gin up their supporters, while many Canadians were still enjoying the final days of their summer vacations.

The longer election campaign was seen tobenefitthe Conservatives because of their fundraising advantage at the start of the election, giving them more resources to pay for advertising and other election expenses.

Jamie Gillies, a professor at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, said there is a concern that the prolonged campaign could drive down interest in the election because of the saturation of attack ads.

But Gillies said there could be an upside to the lengthy writ period.

"Voter turnout could increase from the last election because it gives new voters, young voters and the demographics that are traditionally under-represented enough time to register and to figure out what is going on," Gillies said.

The voter turnout level in the 2011 election was 61.1 per cent, according to Elections Canada.

Meanwhile, the voter turnout in New Brunswick in the previous federal election was 66.2 per cent.

The federal leaders have spent most of their time during the election in vote-rich provinces, such as Ontario and Quebec.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harpermade a quick appearance in Fredericton and the riding also had a visit from Green Leader Elizabeth May. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeauappeared in northeastern New Brunswick to celebrate the Acadian holiday on Aug. 15.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair made a stopin New Brunswick just before the election officially started.

While New Brunswick only has 10 seats, Gillies said he believes the three main parties should be paying attention to the province.

He said there are a few seats that are up for grabs and in a close election, they could make the difference in a tight parliament.

"I think the Liberals and the New Democrats need to campaign in Atlantic Canada simply because there are interesting regional dynamics going on," he said.

"Atlantic Canada has been the most volatile vote in the last three or four months. Where it looked like almost every seat east of Quebec was going to go Liberal and as a region we were solidly behind Trudeau but Mulcair's surge and now the Conservatives are shoring up their base, has made this a three-way region again."