NDP to 'piggyback' on U.S. Democrats' drive for change in election campaign

The party has never been in a better position to fight a federal election and is boasting the best slate of candidates it's had in a long time, said leader Jack Layton as he rallied supporters in Toronto just days before an election call anticipated for Sunday morning.

For the first time in history, the party has a full budget to wage battle against the Conservatives - about $18.3 million, the maximum amount allowed by Elections Canada - Layton said.

NDP strategists said the focus of their campaign will be solely on replacing Harper, as opposed to other elections when multiple opponents were targeted. During his 24-minute speech on Thursday, Layton completely avoided mentioning Liberal Leader Stephane Dion.

Echoing some of Obama's speeches, Layton said his party's campaign will centre on "hope" and "change."

"It's really a vision of hope, it's a vision about change," said Layton. "It's a vision that says we can actually make a different choice than we've been making in the past."

Layton said he listened closely to Obama's speeches and there are many parallels between the situations of the two countries. He claimed the Democrats' environmental policy is "identical" to the NDP's.

"I think we're picking up on some of the energy we're seeing in the United States as well, and I think that could be kind of exciting," said Layton.

Layton met with the chief architect of Obama's successful bid for the Democratic nomination in the United States and the NDP's strategy runs parallel to - rather than imitating - Obama's, said campaign spokesman Brad Lavigne.

"Because of the American election, a lot of people are tuning in, they're getting excited about the potential winds of change, and what we want to do is we kind of want to piggyback on that, those winds of change," Lavigne said.

Layton also used his speech to list off a host of issues that he would address if he controlled the government, including public transit, doctor and nurse shortages, the environment and the listeriosis outbreak.

Sources have told The Canadian Press that Harper will officially launch the federal election campaign Sunday with a visit to the Governor General at 9 a.m. ET.

The election is expected to be held on Oct. 14.

The prime minister was huddling with his cabinet Thursday for a pre-election meeting in Meech Lake, Que, while Dion called an early end to the Liberals' caucus retreat to send MPs back to their ridings to prepare for the expected weekend election call.