Canadians can expect to be bombarded with political messaging for the next 71 days, as the country enters a historically long campaign period, a positioning expert says.
The advertising onslaught has already kicked off, with all three major parties running ads targeting each other.
"I think that we're in for a long election where it just simply comes down to character assassination after assassination," positioning expert and public speaker Tony Chapman said. "We're going to get tired of it."
For the Conservatives, the long campaign period is a chance to pour some of the party's wealth into strategic advertising, Chapman said.
According to Elections Canada, the Tories raised $7.4 million in the second quarter of this year, nearly three million more than the NDP, who raised $4.5 million, and the Liberals, who collected $4.03 million.
As they kick off a marathon election campaign, Chapman said that money will be an important resource for the Conservatives.
"It's not just about survival of the fittest anymore. It's about survival of the richest," He said on CTV's Canada AM on Monday.
So far, Conservative money has gone towards ads attacking both Trudeau and, more recently, Mulcair.
An ad labelling Justin Trudeau as "not ready" to lead the country has been broadcast repeatedly across the country.
"Trudeau came in in shining armour," Chapman said. "And they started hitting him with advertising, planting the seed, (saying) 'he's just not ready.' "
After months of repetition, the message seems to have stuck with some voters.
While Trudeau led in popularity a year ago, the Liberals only captured 29.3 per cent support in a July 31 Nanos survey of voters' preferred local party. Meanwhile, the Conservatives had 31.5 per cent support, and the NDP had 30.1 per cent.
The successful messaging appears to have inspired a similar Conservative attack on the NDP leader. An ad released Saturday uses the same format and same actors to label Mulcair as a "career politician" who voters "can't afford."
Meanwhile, Mulcair has launched his own anti-Conservative commercial, highlighting several scandal-plagued Conservative MPs and Harper-appointed senators.
"It does plant a seed that his government has been in for a long time and there's a lot of skeletons in the closet," Chapman said.
However, he said, the ad may not be shocking enough to actually change voters' minds.
According to Chapman, most Canadians already associate corruption with all politics, rather than one specific party.
"Canadians, as sad as it is to say, in general attach the word 'corruption' to politics," he said.
In his response to Conservative attacks, Justin Trudeau takes a different approach than Mulcair.
The Liberal leader's ad, which was released online on Saturday, shows him walking through a park and telling the camera, "I am ready." He goes on to say he would tax the rich, implement a new plan for the economy, and "bring real change to Ottawa."
For Chapman, the Liberal tactics fall flat.
"He gets lost in translation. It's sort of rhetoric," Chapman said. "He's got to be very specific with his policies."
Beyond advertising videos, Chapman said the three leaders need to sell themselves in person as well.
After the first day of campaigning, Chapman said he thought Harper came off as "more gregarious than we've ever seen him," that Trudeau had "a long way to go," and that Mulcair, who is second in the polls, is "the one to watch."
"Males like him, females love him, he's really strong in the province of Quebec, (and) he has this leadership look to him," Chapman said. "If that momentum from the Liberals continues to go to the NDP, then we're in for a real horse race."
