[4] Edith Cowan University political analyst Harry Phillips said despite the Liberals holding Canning since the 2001 election, it would still be a "hotly contested seat".

[20] Earlier in the year, Western Australian backbenchers Luke Simpkins and Don Randall moved a leadership spill against Mr Abbott declaring he had disconnected from voters.

[23] While Labor candidate Matt Keogh had begun to gain traction in the region, Turnbull's election "immediately boosted the numbers for the Liberals".

[25] The solar industry letter-boxed all electors to vote against the Liberal Party and support Labor, Greens and PUP in response to the federal government's intention to scrap the small-scale renewable energy target.

[26] The Greens chose renewable energy as one of their main campaign topics, by electing Curtin University sustainability lecturer Vanessa Rauland as their candidate.

[32] Liberal candidate Andrew Hastie cited crime as a top issue, alongside jobs, and pledged one of the first things he would do if elected would be to take action on methamphetamine and ice.

He attacked the Abbott government, saying it had cut funding to crisis services and community groups dealing with ice and other drugs, domestic violence and social breakdown.

[32] The cities of Armadale and Cockburn joined forces to lobby the federal government to try to secure millions of dollars during the campaign to upgrade major road infrastructure.

The councils planned to letter drop householders voting in the Canning by-election urging them to email federal and state MPs to help secure the funding.

[33] At the Labor Party state conference on 29 August, Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten promised to spend $170 million on infrastructure projects in Canning.

[35] On 14 September, four days before the election and amid the rolling of Tony Abbott as Prime Minister of Australia, the ReachTel poll showed Liberal at a by-election campaign high of 57% compared to Labor at 43% on two party preferred vote.