#Elxn44 Roundup

Links, notes and comments up to and including the first week of Canada's federal election.

- Shannon Proudfoot reports on Innovative Research's polling into how voters perceive the federal parties - with the noteworthy findings including the fact that the NDP is the only national parties seen as likely on balance to make life better for voters. And Darrell Bricker takes note of the reality that the Libs are seen as the party with a hidden agenda.

- tcnorris offers a reminder that minority governments' gambles on being promoted to majority status may not be as safe as they appear. Christo Aivalis discusses both the opportunity and the need for the NDP to play a key role in keeping the Trudeau Libs from an undeserved false majority. And Dru Oja Jay examines how the NDP has used the balance of power for the benefit of Canadians in the past.

- Luke Savage examines the prospect of an NDP surge (which seems to be playing out at least through the campaign's early stages). And Andrew Perez looks at a few of the factors in Canada and around the globe which were feeding into the party's momentum even before the campaign began, while Lisa Van Dusen discusses the authenticity which provides Jagmeet Singh with an important contrast against the other federal leaders. 

- Meanwhile, Jen Gerson discusses the importance of giving leaders more than one election to grow into the role, rather than throwing them away in the hope that someone newer and shinier will avoid the work of actually building a party and movement. 

- Finally, Maria Della Mattia offers suggestions as to how to make a party's values and ideas stick with the voters who stand to benefit from them.