Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called a federal election for 21 October.
Opinion polls are indicating it will be a tough race for Mr Trudeau, who is seeking a second term in office.
The campaign is expected to focus on issues of affordability, the economy and climate issues.
The prime minister visited the Governor General, Canada’s acting head of state, on Wednesday morning to formally launch the campaign.
Mr Trudeau touted his accomplishments in an announcement, saying: “Canadians get to vote once again for the country they want to live in”.
Canada has a federal fixed election date and Canadians must head to the polls every four years. This campaign will be a relatively short 40 days, or just over five weeks.
Over the summer, the rival parties have been honing their message, focusing on the economy and cost-of-living.
Climate change is also an important issue to voters, according to opinion polls.
Mr Trudeau will have to defend his record, including his handling this year of an ethics crisis that proved politically costly.
The prime minister was found by a federal ethics watchdog to have improperly tried to influence a former minister over the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, a major engineering and construction company facing a criminal trial.
BBC
