At a noisy Chinese restaurant in east Vancouver this week, the former Liberal Party prime minister had no problem making himself heard above the din as dim sum was being served. Paul Martin reminded the partisan crowd that before losing the last election, his minority government pushed for trade and tourism agreements with China and signed a technical-exchange deal with India.
'Stephen Harper turned his back on that framework agreement with China and ignored that agreement with India,' said Mr Martin, who resigned as leader after losing to the Conservative Party in 2006 and is not running in this election. 'When you look at what's happening with the world today, you don't turn your back on China and you don't ignore India.'
Mr Martin made a point of saying he has made trips to Asia in contrast to Prime Minister Harper, who has been criticised for not leading a delegation to China during his 21/2 years in power.
With the current prime minister leading in public opinion polls, the Liberal Party is reaching back to a base of support that has been steadily eroding - the ethnic and immigrant communities.
Vancouver resident Harbir Batra has always voted Liberal, but he said the Conservatives were making a big push to win the votes of ethnic South Asians. 'I'm not tempted to go, but I know people are because the Conservatives say they're in power and there's more they can do than the Liberals,' Mr Batra said.
The Conservatives have made a concerted effort since taking power in 2006 to attract this crucial voter base. Mr Harper made a point of beginning his campaign at the home of Edwin Huang, his wife Fei Chen and their two children, in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver. The family immigrated from China in 2000.
'This party reaches out to all Canadians, to all regions, to all ethnic backgrounds and to all genders,' Mr Harper said. 'When I meet and I see the Huang family, first and foremost they're middle-class families who face most of the same challenges and opportunities that every middle-class family faces. We want to make sure our policies address their concerns as much as any other family in Canada.'