HawthorneVillager.com

In electoral parlance, Halton is a swing riding, one of maybe two dozen in Ontario where a winner isn't obvious and the difference between, say, a Conservative majority and a Liberal minority may well be decided. The two ruling parties have traded Halton for more than a century. Including parts of Burlington, Milton and Oakville, this is a booming stretch of suburbia familiar with both affluence and job losses (Ford's Oakville plant is nearby). In 2006, it went Conservative, by 1,900 votes. Then Halton's MP, the aforementioned Mr. Turner, went Liberal, due to irreconcilable differences with Harper's caucus. Harper then appointed Raitt, CEO of the Toronto Port Authority, a coal miner's daughter with three degrees and two kids, to run against him.

Beneath a large wooden cross, the congregation — maybe a hundred people seated in the pews — seems evenly split. The Tory is bright, well-spoken and passive-aggressive — all nods and shrugs and patronizing smiles. The Liberal, in black beard and dark suit, is blustery and dramatic, an evangelist of sorts. (Green and NDP nominees are present too, but might as well have emailed in their talking points given their electoral chances.)