In the final stretch of the Alberta election, candidates are travelling around the province in an unrelenting push for last minute votes.
They're repeating well-tuned slogans and staying optimistic.
In Edmonton today, NDP leader Brian Mason says he expects his party will gain more than five MLA's when the counting is done on Monday night.
Mason brought in the big gun from Ottawa, touring with Member of Parliament Olivia Chow.
"I get a sense here that people want change. They don't want this old stale PC party that gave away all the wealth that Albertans really have." Says Chow. "Unfortunately the Wildrose platform isn't much different than the PC's. For people who really want change; affordable education, health care, and electricity rates, NDP is the party for you."
Also in Edmonton, PC leader Alison Redford rallied candidates and supporters at an early morning meeting. She repeated her party's commitment to education, economic diversification and health care.
""We as Progressive Conservatives, we have a depth of experience, and we have new candidates that are committed to the future and know that they want to make decisions that are right for their families." Says Redford, "And those decisions are being committed to public health care. Public health care for our children, and public health care for our parents. So that everyone in Alberta has access to healthcare"
Wildrose leader Danielle Smith was also touring the Edmonton area today, making stops in Sylvan Lake and Fort Saskatchewan. She says there are at least 25 ridings where the Wildrose are neck and neck with another candidate.
Smith compared these final hours of campaigning to a boxing match. "I think we won round one. I think we won round two. I think we took a couple body blows this week in round three, but we're still standing, we're still strong going into these final days of the campaign."
Liberal leader Raj Sherman's itinerary took him to Edmonton and Red Deer for a tour of coffee shops and local malls. He's encouraging voters who want change to avoid both the Wildrose and the PC's. "Exercise your freedom to choose a new path…Voting for the same people that caused your problems is not strategic, it's simply stupid."
Election day is Monday, April 23rd.
