By Kelsey Johnson
OTTAWA, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Canadians have a message forpoliticians appearing on their front stoops ahead of Canada'supcoming national election in October: life is getting moreexpensive.
The issue of affordability could shape the Oct. 21 election,according to pollsters, and both Canadian Prime Minister JustinTrudeau's Liberals and the rival Conservatives plan to makeeasing household expenses a priority, party sources say.
While so-called pocketbook issues are a constant feature ofelections everywhere, the subject is especially relevant inCanada's upcoming contest.
Canadian household debt is at record levels, while thesavings rate has fallen to nearly its lowest level in 14 years.A recent Abacus Data poll found 56% of Canadians putcost-of-living as one of their top five issues heading into thevote.
Household debt is rising against the backdrop of a solideconomy, with unemployment hovering near a record low reachedearlier this year, while wage growth is picking up and inflationis low.
"Affordability for middle-class families is a key issue,"Jean-Yves Duclos, Trudeau's social development minister, said ina recent interview.
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer and Trudeau, who tookoffice in 2015, are in a statistical tie nationally, polls show,but the Liberals are outpacing the Conservatives in Quebec andOntario, Canada's most populous provinces with the most seats inparliament.
The official campaign, which typically occurs every fouryears, is expected to kick off by mid-September, with 338 seatsup for grabs in the House of Commons.
The Conservative Party sources have said promises to makelife more affordable will be a cornerstone in their campaign,especially in the key battlegrounds around Toronto, in theAtlantic provinces, and in rural Quebec.
"Our candidates ... are hearing from people that they'reworking very hard but that the cost of living is getting out ofcontrol," Scheer said this week as he pledged to make maternitybenefits tax-free if elected.
"All of the major parties are going to be obsessed aboutcarving out territory around affordability," said Tim Powers,vice-chairman of political strategy firm Summa Strategies.
'TOO EXPENSIVE'
"There's food, but there's no money to buy it," FlorenceOguntade, in her 50s and a mother of three, said at a bus stopin Ottawa. A Liberal supporter, she said she wants the party toaddress the rising costs of food and cellphones if it wins.
Fresh vegetable prices have posted double-digit gains for 10consecutive months, according to Statistics Canada.
Oguntade said cellphone bills, which are among the highestin the world, were costing her "thousands of dollars". She saidshe is using money to pay for her kids' phones that should bespent on food.
Cellphone costs are likely to be addressed by both theLiberals and the Conservatives, the party sources said.
The left-wing New Democrat Party (NDP), which released itscampaign platform in June, has already pledged measures thatinclude offsetting mobile phone and Wi-Fi costs, creating auniversal pharmacare program, and an additional C$1 billion($752.11 million) in childcare funding by 2020.
The Liberal platform may include at least partialcompensation for the costs of medicines, sources have said.Canada is the only country in the world with a universal healthsystem that does not include substantial coverage forprescription drugs.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives have promised to cancel theLiberal government's carbon pricing scheme to help lower foodand gasoline prices.
"People are living in this state of uncertainty ... whereone unexpected thing pushes you over the edge," said Marie DellaMattia, the NDP's national campaign co-chair.($1 = 1.3296 Canadian dollars)(Reporting by Kelsey Johnson in OttawaEditing by Steve Scherer and Matthew Lewis)