Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his ousted Conservatives have launched a charm offensive in Canada’s biggest city, hoping to win over the Asian vote and another shot at power.
“Xie xie ... Xie xie,” Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said in broken Mandarin as he thanked Chinese-Canadians who stopped briefly to shake his hand and pledge support at a Chinese supermarket in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto.
His audience giggled at his pronunciation, but they seemed to appreciate his efforts to address them in their mother tongue.
The race in this district ahead of the May 2 general election is close and competition for the support of Canada’s minorities is fierce, Kenney added.
To win a majority in parliament, the Conservatives, ousted last month in a no-confidence vote, must win 12 more seats in this election — the fourth in seven years.
The latest polls show the party, which had ruled as a minority government before being toppled in a row over the budget, might be tantalizingly close to its goal.
That is why the Conservatives have cranked their election machinery into gear to woo Canadians of Asian descent in the Toronto area.
One-third of the 2.5 million people living in Toronto proper are Chinese-Canadian or from other Asian countries, and the Tories have been buoyed by the election last year of a conservative-leaning mayor in the city.
Their strategy to win votes from the Liberals and New Democrats is simple: a lot of hand-shaking and targeted election promises, such as making it easier for immigrants to have their foreign professional credentials recognized and so far, it seems to be working.
Auto parts worker Wei Wu has lived in Canada for the past 40 years, but has never voted in a federal election.
“This year I will,” he said as he waited at a supermarket check-out.
“I hope the Harper government gets a majority,” he added, saying that he appreciated the tax cuts the administration previously rolled out.
Grace Gu, who was born in the Philippines, said: “I like their immigration policy.”
Canada has sought to boost legal immigration while cracking down on those trying to sneak into the country after the recent arrival of two rickety cargo ships carrying illegal immigrants.
Last year, Canada welcomed 280,636 permanent residents, the highest number of immigrants in more than 50 years.
Liberal lawmaker Paul Szabo, who has held the seat for Mississauga South since 1993, won by just 2,000 votes last time.
The Conservatives are running Stella Ambler, a housewife involved in the local board of trade and the Catholic Women’s League of her parish, against him.
Szabo is blunt, accusing Kenney of abusing his post as immigration minister for political gain by campaigning for Ambler.
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