Hamilton's Conservative candidates remain upbeat, confident the city could send three of its MPs to Ottawa.

As Prime Minister Stephen Harper rallied his Conservative troops in a JetPort hangar at the Hamilton International Airport this week, conservative candidates were buoyant with the celebratory results.

"It's important to get Hamilton MPs in government," said Hamilton Mountain Conservative candidate Terry Anderson. "It's a sign by the party Hamilton is on the edge of electing a Hamilton MP."

Mr. Harper's appearance in the Niagara West-Glanbrook riding follows on the heels of NDP leader Jack Layton and Liberal leader Stephane Dion's Hamilton Mountain riding appearances.

Mr. Anderson said the party was unable to fine a suitable large venue to hold Mr. Harper's rally.

Dean Allison, incumbent Conservative MP for Niagara West-Glanbrook, said Mr. Harper's appearance reinforces the party's attempts to get a third Hamilton MP into government.

"(The national party) goes to where they can win the seats," he said.

Mr. Allison, Mr. Anderson, and Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale incumbent Conservative MP David Sweet, along with 10 other area Conservative candidates welcomed Mr. Harper to the area Oct. 7. This was the first time Mr. Harper has visited Hamilton during the election.

During his 25-minute speech to over 500 cheering supporters, Mr. Harper urged the community to elect MPs who will be in government.

"We want Hamilton at the table," he told an adoring crowd.

"We need Hamilton to be there as we move forward, particularly at a time of global uncertainty. Hamilton needs to be certain it is on the inside when decisions get made."

The crowd was significantly larger than the gatherings Mr. Layton and Mr. Dion drew during their visits here. A recent Stoney Creek visit by Mr. Dion drew less than 100 people.

But the public was prevented from attending Mr. Harper's event. Supporters had to register prior to the 5 p.m. event, then were bused to the hangar.

The security appeared less onerous than Mr. Harper's visit to downtown Hamilton recently, but volunteers monitored who signed up for the event. Members of the media had to sign a sheet identifying who they were. Three protesters were seen from the airport's parking lot holding up signs opposed to the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement, and to Mr. Harper. After the event, supporters and media personnel became trapped in the airport's parking lot as hundreds of vehicles attempted to get out. A number of people, visibly angry, complained about the poor organization by the Conservative party that left them in the traffic jam for over an hour.

Mr. Harper's brief stop-over in Hamilton, before jetting off to Vancouver, came at the tail end of a day when he released his party's platform a week before the election.

His appearance also came the same day when global markets were in a tail spin, and national polls revealed the Conservative lead was evaporating. A Canadian Press-Harris Decima poll indicated the Liberals have surged ahead of the Conservatives 34 per cent to 26 per cent. The NDP was at 26 per cent and the Green party at 15 per cent. An Angus-Reid survey has the Conservatives down 35 per cent from 40 per cent, with the Liberals at 27 per cent, the NDP at 18 per cent, and the Green party at 10 per cent.

During his speech, Mr. Harper portrayed himself as the leader steering a steady ship while others have crumbled during the economic storm. He said he foresaw the financial black clouds back in August 2007, while Liberal leader Stephane Dion only realized the problem recently.

"The crisis did not begin two weeks ago. It began in August 2007," he said.

He said both the NDP and Liberal platforms advocate economic policies that are in "fantasyland."

"Vote for the party that has the only idea how to manage the economy," he said to cheering supporters.

He criticized Mr. Dion's "green shift" plan, laughing at the Liberal leader's attempts to downplay what was initially a central platform for the Liberal election campaign.

"If they won't stand behind their platform, why should the voters of this country," he said.

The Conservatives' four-year platform, called True North Strong and Free contains increased spending and tax cuts that include raising the Age Amount tax credit for seniors by $1,000, boosting the federal small business tax break, offering tax credit for first-time home buyers up to $5,000, and cutting the excise tax on diesel fuel to 2 cents per litre from four cents. The projected budget surplus will be $8 billion over four years, the Conservatives say, while toughening environmental enforcement, and boosting aerospace and automotive industries with $200 million each.