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In the last week of the campaign, the New Brunswick Liberals ran a television ad featuring a picture of a smiling David Alward, the Progressive Conservative leader and Premier, beside Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Ominous music played in the background as a female narrator said: Conservatives David Alward and Stephen Harper have made a mess of New Brunswicks economy over the last four years. She asked voters if they want another four years of job losses, higher debt, and young people fleeing the province.

Globe and Mail Update Sep. 22 2014, 12:21 PM EDT

It may be a provincial campaign, but Liberal Leader Brian Gallant, the 32-year-old rookie, has been invoking the Prime Minister in one of his key campaign messages: the Harper-Alward alliance has been bad for New Brunswick.

Mr. Alwards team calls the ad nasty and is not happy the Liberals repeatedly refer to Mr. Alward and his party as the Alward Conservatives, deliberately forgetting to include the Progressive in the partys name.

They have such a strong brand right now because of Trudeau, says a senior Alward strategist of the Liberals. The advantage they have is that they have that same brand right across the country. Its the red L. From a brand perspective its difficult [for the PCs] because of Harper and some of the policies hes had in Atlantic Canada.

New Brunswickers go to the polls Monday, ending a campaign that has offered voters clear choices, especially on the key issue of job creation.

Mr. Alward, 54, is seeking a second term. He has focused his campaign on the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, as a way of creating jobs and keeping young New Brunswickers who have left for jobs in the West at home.

His campaign slogan is Say Yes to shale gas, jobs and prosperity. He is hoping the province will see $10-billion in private investment through the governments promotion of natural-resource development, including shale gas and the proposed Energy East pipeline.

Mr. Alward made history in 2010 by winning a majority and defeating the Liberals, who had served just one term the first time a New Brunswick government lost after just one term. Now, Mr. Gallant wants to do the same to Mr. Alward.

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New Brunswick Liberals link Alward to Harper as voters head to polls