Ajax-Pickering riding key election battleground

With the Conservatives eyeing a majority government, theToronto-area riding of Ajax-Pickering is near the top of the party's target list.

But the Liberal incumbent, Mark Holland, is a rising star in his party. The Conservatives also have a heavy-hitter in their corner, with their candidate, Chris Alexander, being a former Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan.

Holland has held on to Ajax-Pickering, a sprawling suburban riding where rural Ontario meets the GTA, since its creation in 2004. He won the riding by more than 3,000 votes in the last federal election.

Still, the Liberal party's bulldog in Parliament said he knows there may as well be a target on his back, with Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's high-profile visit to his turf on Wednesday.

"When you challenge this government, when you criticize them, they destroy you," Holland said, adding that he sees Harper's visit as a validation of Holland's strong support in the community.

"I would suggest [Harper] actually come to the streets, meet with the voters, instead of trying to kick people out by creeping on their Facebook page," he said.

Tories have momentum in Ajax: candidate

Alexander, meanwhile, said that Harper's appearance shows the Conservatives have momentum.

"This event is more than sold out," Alexander said, ahead of the Wednesday rally that drew more than 1,000 Conservative supporters, including Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

While the Liberals have fought back by releasing a Youtube clip where Alexander is heckled for comments about poverty in Canada,claiming that the Conservative candidate is out of touch with the realities of the community, Alexander has defended his record.

"One doesn't go to Afghanistan as ambassador, or deputy head of the U.N. mission, except to work on poverty issues of the most acute form," he said.