UPDATE 1-Canada election shifts attention to trade deal as race narrows

(Adds opposition criticism of signing trade deal during
campaign, paragraphs 3-6)
By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Trailing in second place two weeks
before Canada's election, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen
Harper announced a trade pact on Monday that largely protects
the agricultural voting bloc, putting pressure on opponents who
hope the deal would be a weak spot.
Harper touted the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a good accord
that offers only limited access to Canada's politically
important farm industry, largely neutralizing an attack from the
left-leaning New Democratic Party, which has been sinking in
polls.
NDP leader Thomas Mulcair derided Harper for backing the
12-nation agreement in the midst of a campaign when the
government is supposed to be in a neutral caretaker status.
"It's inconceivable that Stephen Harper signed a secret deal
in the midst of an election campaign. He's sacrificing our
family farms, he is selling out auto workers," Mulcair said.
Mulcair vowed to stand up against the deal but stopped short
of saying he would back out of it if he won the election.
Previously Mulcair had said he would not be bound by the
terms of the deal. The NDP's last hope for political victory may
be 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
In a move to shore up support among voters in the
Conservative heartland, Harper announced compensation to farmers
for losses they might suffer.
For voters in industrial Ontario, the province with the most
seats up for grabs, he said the Conservatives would soon
announce measures to attract new auto investment.