Vancouver's mayoral candidates are making one last push for citizens' votes while they try to improve on the abysmal voter turnout last time around.
In the final hours of the Non-Partisan Association campaign, the party was harping on an old theme, mocking Mayor Gregor Robertson for pushing for backyard chickens and front yard wheat fields.
"We do make fun about the wheat fields and the chickens and so on, but that's because that's all there is. There is no record on green [issues]," NPA mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton said.
The right-of-centre party also created a mock Occupy Vancouver site, trying to capitalize on an issue that it feels has scored it a few points.
"The overwhelming theme -- the theme that has been here from day one to today -- is the failure of leadership," Anton said.
The NPA believes that four of its candidates could be elected to council, which is now dominated by Vision Vancouver.
For its part, the left-leaning party has mostly played it safe during the campaign, and Robertson said Friday that he's disappointed by his rivals' tactics.
"The campaign on the NPA side has been nasty, it has been very negative, and that speaks to the desperation that they have," he said.
He also took aim at the NPA's candidates, calling them, "a bunch of negative and reckless rookies who are trying to take us on."
The parties know that the crucial element in the election is getting their supporters out. In 2008, just 31 per cent of eligible voters turned up at the polls.
At Vision, door hangers will remind followers to get out and vote, while NPA campaigners are packing boxes for volunteers who will fan out across the city. Both parties will rely on smart phones and databases to give them instant information about how many supporters have cast ballots.
To learn more about how to cast your vote in the Vancouver election, click here.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Mi-Jung Lee
