Canada election shifts attention to trade deal as race narrows

By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Trailing in second place with two
weeks left before Canada's election, Conservative Prime Minister
Stephen Harper announced a new trade deal on Monday that largely
protects the key agricultural voting bloc, putting pressure on
opponents who had hoped to have more to attack.
Harper touted the Trans Pacific Partnership as a good deal
that offers only limited access to Canada's politically
important farm industry.
This largely neutralizes an anticipated attack from the
opposition New Democratic Party, which had threatened to back
out of a bad deal if they win office. The centre-left NDP's last
hope for political victory may have been voter anger over free
trade.
The centrist Liberal Party, which has edged ahead of Harper
in recent days, signaled it would probably support the deal.
"You are either in or out," Harper told a news conference.
"We choose to be in because there is simply too much to gain for
Canada."
A Nanos poll released Sunday suggested the race to the Oct.
19 election, which had been a virtual three-way tie for the
first two months of the 11-week campaign, was increasingly
between Harper and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. The Liberals
were winning 35 percent support, with the Conservatives at 31
percent and the NDP trailing at 24 percent.
While farmers had said they could be crippled if Canada gave
up too much of its supply management system that keeps domestic
dairy and poultry prices high, Harper said the deal offered
access to just 3.25 percent of the dairy market and around 2
percent of the poultry market over five years. ID:nL1N1250UM
He also said Ottawa would offer a total of C$4.3 billion
($3.28 billion) over 15 years to compensate dairy and poultry
farmers for losses they might suffer, a move aimed at shoring up
support among voters in the Conservative's rural heartland.
Still, voters in industrial Ontario, the province with the
most seats up for grabs, could be angered by the expected hit to
the auto industry.
"All the signs point to the TPP posing a major threat to
good-paying jobs in Canada," said Unifor National President,
Jerry Dias, who represents autoworkers.
Harper said the Conservatives would soon announce measures
to attract new auto investment and ensure the long-term
sustainability of plants in the populous province.