After weeks of speculation and government announcements, the federal election campaign is officially underway.

This morning, Governor-General Mary Simon accepted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s request to dissolve Parliament and start a 36-day campaign.

Election Day will fall on Monday, September 20.

This will be the second pandemic election for Newfoundland and Labrador, following a controversial provincial election earlier this year that saw delays and a shift to mail-in ballots after a COVID outbreak mid-campaign.

Trudeau is hoping to bolster the minority government he won in 2019 with a majority

The Opposition Conservatives lead by Erin O’Toole, the New Democrats and leader Jagmeet Singh, and Annamie Paul and the Green Party are fighting to ensure that doesn’t happen

At the drop of the writ, NL had six Liberal MPs and one New Democrat – veteran politician Jack Harris who is not running again.