SAINT-ANTOINE, N.B. - New Brunswick Liberal Leader Brian Gallant chose to kick off his final full day of campaigning by rallying the troops in front of a memorial dedicated to his political inspiration.
With the image of former Liberal premier Louis Robichaud behind him, Gallant told a red-clad crowd Sunday in Saint-Antoine that he's ready to lead the province toward change.
But the 32-year-old, who emerged as the perceived frontrunner early in the campaign, wasn't making predictions about Monday's outcome.
"I've always thought that this is going to be a tight election," Gallant told reporters.
"We've always made it very clear that we're taking nothing for granted, and we're not putting any stock in polls that would maybe suggest otherwise."
Gallant said he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Robichaud, who was the first Acadian to be elected premier of New Brunswick in 1960.
"Louis Robichaud would be one of my political idols," he said. "To think I have the same job as him as being leader of the Liberal party, and that I'm vying to have another job that he had — to be premier of our beautiful province — is really a special moment for me."
Gallant grew up in the Acadian community of Grande-Digue, about a 30-minute drive northeast of Moncton. It's where he'll spend Monday watching the election results, on property that's been in the Gallant family for a century.
The Liberal leader, who was first elected to the riding of Kent in a byelelection last year, said he's proud of the campaign he's run over the past four weeks.
When asked about low points, Gallant said he was disappointed in the "misinformation" being spread about his party's plan to spend $900-million on infrastructure.
The cash injection is key to the Liberal promise to create jobs and balance the books in six years.
He called out Progressive Conservative Premier David Alward and Dominic Cardy of the NDP for their criticism.
"I think it's unfortunate to hear Dominic Cardy and David Alward trash on our plan to invest in infrastructure and roads," said Gallant.
"We've seen in the last few days that they seem to be cut from the same cloth."
