“The hatchets have been buried,” said Ms. Copps in an interview by Williams Coffee Pub on the waterfront Oct. 11. “To quote Mark Twain, rumours of our death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Ms. Copps, along with Hamilton Mountain Liberal candidate Tyler Banham, Hamilton Centre’s Helen Wilson and Hamilton East-Stoney Creek’s Larry Di Ianni, denounced local NDP candidates as their leader, Jack Layton, for selling promises they can’t keep.

“They only job Jack Layton will save is Stephen Harper’s,” said Mr. Copps.

“They are promising the moon, the sky and the stars and not delivery,” said Mr. Di Ianni, who is in a tough fight against NDP incumbent MP Wayne Marston.

“Jack Layton is like an unscrupulous car salesman who will say anything to sell that wreck. And he has said anything.”

After four years of sitting on the political sidelines, Ms. Copps said she was provoked into supporting the Liberal party and Hamilton’s local candidates this time by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to cut arts funding, and by the NDP’s attempts to paint the Liberal party as irrelevant to Canadians.

“If you really want to be with a team for the renaissance of Hamilton, you need to be part of the Liberal government,” said Ms. Copps, who was predicting a minority Liberal win. “The Liberal party is strong, broad and deep.

“It’s been four years, I’ve had this all bottled up.”

Ms. Copps, after the waterfront rally, said there is no hard feelings between her and Mr. Di Ianni over past disagreements.

She blamed the political environment for the city and Mr. Di Ianni launching a $70 million legal action against her and the federal government for attempting to stop the city from building the Red Hill Creek Parkway.

“I don’t think it was anything personal,” she said. “(Larry) was the mayor of the city.”

But during a rally in 2005, Ms. Copps took direct aim at Mr. Di Ianni and the lawsuit saying “the mayor and those bullies at city hall think they will intimidate people into not caring for the environment.”

She said at the time councillors and the mayor had been captured by the “corporatist agenda” of the development community. She also said Mr. Di Ianni was ignoring revitalizing Hamilton’s urban areas, and instead focused more on building multi-million dollar expressways for “his developer friends” that will stunt the city’s growth.

But on a cool, but sunny Saturday morning, Ms. Copps and Mr. Di Ianni praised each other like long-lost friends for defending Hamilton’s interests, and ready to fight for the city’s future, as about 60 people Liberal supporters applauded.

Ms. Copps reminded people she teamed up with the former mayor to relocate the CAN MET laboratory from Ottawa to the McMaster University Innovation Park.

“Larry knows how to get things done, knows how to get along with people at all levels,” she said.

Mr. Di Ianni said later he has always had a “great respect” for Ms. Copps and believes with her support, especially in attracting the Hamilton East Copps Liberals, which will propel him to victory.

Ms. Copps has agreed to campaign with Mr. Di Ianni including endorsing Mr. Di Ianni on a brochure.

“I feel cautiously optimistic (about a possible win),” said Mr. Di Ianni.

Ms. Copps also backed away from her support for Mr. Marston, saying she “likes him” but “he’s in the wrong party.”

During the 2006 federal election Ms. Copps was linked to Hamilton East-Stoney Creek Conservative candidate Frank Rukavina’s campaign to support Mr. Marston to defeat her bitter rival, former cabinet minister Tony Valeri, after a contentious nomination battle.

“They want us to fight among ourselves,” said Mr. Copps. “But we have a country that is more important that anything that has happened in the past.”

The Hamilton East-Stoney Creek race remains Hamilton’s most talked about with Mr. Layton scheduled to rally the NDP troops at Mr. Marston’s campaign office Sunday evening, Oct. 12.

Meanwhile, Liberal candidate Tyler Banham remains confident of a victory Oct. 14 against incumbent NDP MP Chris Charlton, and the resurgent campaign of Conservative candidate Terry Anderson.

“We will surprise some people, even though the pundits don’t think we have a chance,” he said.

Mr. Banham will be up at 6 a.m. at various Mountain Tim Horton’s on election day talking to residents.

“I’m taking a page out of (former U.S. President Bill Clinton) to not sit back on election day, but getting out to greet people,” he said. “I am not taking anything for granted.”