On a Sunday morning in downtown Ottawa, typically, there isn’t much activity. Shops are closed as most bureaucrats have gone home to the suburbs for the weekend, and there’s no point in staying open if there’s no one to serve. But there was some activity, not far from the CTV office this morning when the Conservative campaign bus underwent final preps before Stephen Harper took off for the road.
Clearly marked security flanked the bus, which caught the attention of the few tourists making their way to Parliament Hill. About two dozen people stood on street corners as they watched campaign staffers carry boxes from a party office onto the bus, a process that took about half an hour. Some tourists asked security if they could get a photo with Harper, but that was not in the cards this morning.
As Conservative staff members waited for the final preps to finish, the official photographers were clearly marked, even wearing Harper baseball jerseys while photographing the bus. Or perhaps the photographer was just a big Bryce Harper fan … and it was just a coincidence.
When Harper and his wife Laureen finally emerged, they stopped to wave for the crowd. There were a few muted cheers, as crowd seemed to be more curious than enthusiastic. With smart phone cameras ready, the small crowd took dozens of photos as Harper jumped on the bus, before making his way out of the downtown core.
Just a little taste of the campaign for me – I’m covering the Mike Duffy trial, and won’t be out on the road until the next batch of testimony is complete (Aug. 28). Can’t wait to watch my colleagues follow the ups and downs, and then get out there myself.
