DOMINION, N.S. — Liberal David Wilson had Nova Scotia's NDP and Conservative leaders visit his riding Sunday as the province's election campaign neared the end, but Wilson sees no reason to panic.

Voters in Cape Breton, he said, vote for local candidates, not party leaders.

"Our strength here has always been in the fact that we have elected members who are constituency members,'' said Wilson, who won the new riding of Glace Bay by about 2,000 votes in 2003.

"My hope is that we will have more Liberal members from Cape Breton, not less.''

Nevertheless, New Democrat Leader Darrell Dexter and Conservative Premier Rodney MacDonald highlighted Cape Breton as a place where they might make gains on Tuesday.

MacDonald, a fiddler and former gym teacher, thinks his upbringing on the island can help him.

"I think we have a real opportunity to grow the number of seats in Cape Breton,'' he said. "I understand the issues of Cape Breton island. I'm a Cape Bretoner with deep roots here.''

Dexter, who needs a breakthrough in rural Nova Scotia if he is to have any hope of knocking off the Tories, sounded equally as confident about his chances, not only in Cape Breton but across the province.

The fact that he and MacDonald keep crossing paths indicates a tight race, he said.

"This is probably one of the most competitive elections in a long, long time,'' Dexter said.

"Of course we are going to be crossing paths, in fact we have been doing that for the last week in ridings across the province.''

Liberal Leader Francis MacKenzie campaigned in Antigonish before heading to Cape Breton and boldly predicted at least 20 seats for the Liberals in the 52-seat legislature.

When the election was called a month ago by the Tories, it was a minority government.

The Conservatives had 25 seats, the NDP 15 and the Liberals 10. One seat was held by an Independent in Cape Breton who isn't running again and the other seat was vacant.

MacKenzie brushed aside suggestions the party could lose seats in Cape Breton, where it held four of the island's nine seats, while the NDP and Tories had two seats each.

"Our support base is strong, it's been built over months,'' he said. "They're trying to come in at the last minute and see what they can steal or nick away from us.''

James Guy, who teaches political science at Cape Breton University in Sydney, said it's unlikely the Tories or New Democrats will be able to steal Glace Bay from Wilson.

He said Sunday's focus on Cape Breton could be an attempt to convince voters across the island that the parties value the region.

That's especially important in other Cape Breton constituencies that were close in 2003 and could change hands.

"When the leaders are in Cape Breton, they're in all of Cape Breton, they're not just in one riding,'' said Guy.

"What they're creating is an impression that they think Cape Breton could be a kingmaker if it's a really close contest.''

Without a burning issue in the campaign, Tuesday's election could be decided by what people make of the three major party leaders.

On Sunday, the Tories and the NDP continued taking shots at each other.

"The Conservatives will say anything and do anything to run away from their record of seven years of broken promises,'' Dexter said in a statement.

MacDonald, meanwhile, called the NDP platform a "wish list'' instead of a coherent plan to govern the province.

MacKenzie criticized the NDP and Conservatives for running negative campaigns.

"The other two parties are more concerned about sniping at each other rather than dealing with the real issues of Nova Scotians,'' he said.

Fred Polley, 78, of Westville, sounded tired of the negativity as he attended a MacKenzie campaign event in Stellarton.

"I think the thing I noticed most is that they spent more time belittling their opponents than telling me what they are going to do if they get elected,'' he said.