Having visited the governor general to dissolve Parliament and call an early election on Sunday, Justin Trudeau issued a mostly paint-by-the-numbers pitch to the Canadian electorate. Offering his usual buttery delivery and a string of treacly platitudes, the prime minister made a predictable appeal to experience and the need for steady hands in a moment of crisis — adding a plea that the vaccinated encourage the unvaccinated to get their jabs.

With the launch of its platform this week, the Conservative Party similarly appears to be hitting many familiar notes: emphasizing tax incentives and subsidies to business while triangulating on some of the more overtly right-wing proposals touted during last year’s leadership convention.

Leader Erin O’Toole, meanwhile, came out against mandatory vaccinations for civil servants and people traveling by air and rail. This week being the first of the campaign, it’s too early to say what the contours of the election will ultimately look like. Nonetheless, its early days have already managed to evoke the bland, bipartisan symbiosis that has historically defined Canadian federal elections — this time with pandemic politics thrown into the mix.