"Hello, I am Jagmeet."
A few days before Canada's general election, with a warm handshake or a touch of humour, the first non-white leader of a national political party is looking to consolidate his position as likely kingmaker.
Former criminal defence lawyer Jagmeet Singh was elected to lead the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 2017. Born in Ontario to Indian immigrant parents, the 40-year-old observant Sikh who recently married fashion designer Gurkiran Kaur, speaks English and French, but also Punjabi.
On the campaign trail his orange, yellow, pink, purple and baby blue turbans have become a sensation.
"I love you!," yells a young passer-by in Montreal's Hochelaga neighbourhood. "I'm going to vote for you."
Canadian voters go to the polls on 21 October after a 40-day campaign triggered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's advice to the governor-general to dissolve parliament.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks at a rally during a campaign stop in Penticton. Source: The Canadian Press
An analysis of candidate lists by The Canadian Press shows a record 15 per cent of candidates for the country’s six major parties are visible minorities.
That’s up about one per cent point from the nation's Liberals, Conservatives and New Democratic Party combined in 2015, according to Canada's Global News.
Twenty-two per cent of Canadians identify as visible minorities, according to the 2016 census figures which does not include people who identify themselves as Indigenous.
Since Mr Singh has been elected, the NDP's support has climbed as high as 20 per cent, placing it third behind the Liberals and Conservatives, which each enjoy 30 to 33 per cent backing.
The party is promising free dental care and prescription drugs for all, to be financed by raising taxes on "multimillionaires and billionaires."
The nation's outgoing government has 14 Sikh ministers in parliament and four Sikh cabinet ministers, making the community one of the most politically-successful groups in the country.
Seats up for grabs
Voters will elect 338 members of the House of Commons, the same number as in the last ballot. Members of Parliament are elected for four-year terms.
Turnout in the last election was 68.3 per cent, compared to 61.1 per cent in 2011. The number of registered voters has risen by more than 10 per cent to 27.4 million.
Preliminary figures showed voter turnout during advanced polling was up from 2015.
Rivals for power
The Liberal Party has been in power since 2015 in a landslide victory against the Tories, who had ruled for nine years.
This campaign has again pitted the Liberals against the Conservatives, led by Andrew Scheer, along with the smaller New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Jagmeet Singh, Elizabeth May and the Green Party, and Yves-Francois Blanchet's Bloc Quebecois.
After losing a Tory leadership race in 2017, former foreign minister Maxime Bernier formed the People's Party, and an NDP MP kicked out of his party over harassment allegations last year revived its predecessor, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), defunct since 1961.
At parliament's dissolution on 11 September, after counting defections, firings, retirements and deaths, the Liberals held 177 seats, the Conservatives 95, the NDP 39, the Bloc 10, the Green Party two, the People's Party one, and the CCF one.
There were also eight independent MPs - including two former Liberal ministers - and five vacant seats.
New election rules
A 2015 Liberal pledge to reform Canada's electoral system, eliminating first-past-the-post voting in favour of proportional representation, was abandoned due to a lack of a clear consensus for a new system.
However, most eligibility criteria for special ballots were repealed, making it easier for Canadians living abroad to vote in this election.
New restrictions have been placed on third-party advertisers during the campaign, including a ban on the use of foreign funds. And web firms such as Facebook and Google have been required to maintain a public registry of election advertising on their platforms.
Constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy rooted in its past as part of the British Empire, Canada's official head of state is the Queen of England. But it is also a parliamentary democracy, in which the prime minister is the head of government and chief executive.
In line with British tradition, the head of the party that wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons becomes prime minister.
Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet speaks to the media while campaigning. Source: The Canadian Press
If no party garners an absolute majority, the party with the largest representation in parliament is usually called on to form the government. But this is not automatic, and there are no written rules.
The government must win the confidence of the House. Specifically, if it does not have an absolute majority, a party must secure the support of one or more of the other parties to win confidence votes, as they arise one by one, or by forming a coalition.
As such, Mr Trudeau could still hold on to power even if Mr Scheer's Tories win more seats.
