Angus not worried about early election call

The 2015 federal election is going to be a marathon, an 11-week marathon to be exact.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the call this past weekend, an early move that Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus (NDP) calls “cynical” on the part of the Tory Leader.

He says he was planning on spending this time educating the public, keeping his office open and going door-to-door to spread the message that this election is about getting Harper out of office.

“(The early election call) isn’t to serve the Canadian people,” Angus adds.

“It’s to gain the system to give him an extra advantage by trying to bankrupt the opposition parties, but people see through that.”

He says if Harper believes this is giving him an advantage, he’s making a mistake.

“People want a Canada that has credibility on the international stage, not the bully-boy that Stephen Harper’s made it,” Angus said.

On the campaign trail, Leader Tom Mulcair has been out meeting with people already, including Sudbury and North Bay last week.

Angus says he’s been offering practical solutions of getting Canadians through the recession, and the feedback has been positive.

“There’s an energy in the air for change, people want change and it’s clear that only the New Democratic Party are the ones who are going to be able to deliver that change,” he added.

Angus has two challengers thus far.  Former Mayoral candidate and councillor Todd Lever (Liberals) and the relatively unknown Max Kennedy (Green Party), while the Conservatives have yet to name a candidate in this riding.

The election is set for October 19th.