Only nine days left in the Ontario election campaign, and there isn’t much time left for the race to change significantly, but liberal and NDP strategists claim the time is sufficient.

Both parties had hoped to close the gap with the Progressive Conservatives but it has not worked that way. The change in opinion polls has been minimal since the campaign officially began nearly three weeks ago.

However, both the Liberals and the NDP insist they see hope in preventing a second term for the Progressive Conservatives led by Ford.

One strategic analyst in the NDP said the next nine days will focus on proposals related to dental care, medications, and mental health as a means to make life affordable.

Strategists admit that the level of campaign engagement among Ontario voters has been somewhat low so far and it is not easy to attract voters.

There is an old saying among political parties and their campaign teams: “Campaigns matter.” However, nothing seems significant enough to greatly influence voter intent, at least not yet.

For Ford and his team, this is a winning scenario.

The Conservative campaign will benefit greatly if the vote splits between the NDP and the Liberals on election night as suggested by current polls. Ford could see winning more seats compared to 2018.

For the Liberals, the ideal situation is for NDP support to drop, sending a signal to voters who want to prevent Ford from winning another term that the only way to do so is to vote Liberal.

However, NDP vote numbers across the province have remained relatively steady. While these numbers are barely what the New Democrats wanted, they are not as low as the Liberals hoped.

Liberal strategists insist their campaign is strong, claiming that as long as Liberals are not associated with the NDP, anti-Ford voting will be theirs in the final days.

New Democrat strategists are frustrated with some of the Liberal campaign tactics.

Tim Ellis, founder of Not One Seat, a volunteer-run group aimed at encouraging strategic voting against the Conservatives, said

“Opposition parties are busy attacking each other.” Ellis added: “This is the time they could make a real difference in the race.” “They could really stand out and make a difference by now committing to work together to defeat Ford. That’s what voters are looking for.”

Editing: Dima Abu Khair