The much anticipated Canadian Election is upon us and is shaping to be a contested, heated affair between Mark Carney's Liberals and Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives.
Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney went to the Governor General’s office and asked that Parliament be dissolved, setting the stage for a federal snap election on April 28.
Currently, according to 338Canada, the Liberals are ahead of the Conservatives, 39% to 37%. The NDP are a distant third place with 11% and the Bloc Québécois are fourth with 7%. If these numbers hold, Prime Minister Carney would win a narrow majority government.
The Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, were leading the Liberals by 29 points in December, now the Liberals are ahead by 5 points, according to a March Angus Reid poll. This dramatic change in polling is mainly due to the resignation of Justin Trudeau and the tariff and annexation threats posed by U.S. President Trump.
Mark Carney, Prime Minister and head of the Liberal Party, leads among Canadians on all issues regarded as important such as reducing the cost of living, improving healthcare, and handling the U.S.-Canada relationship.
NDP Chief Jagmeet Singh has an approval rating of -25, the lowest among all federal leaders. Pierre Poilievre is not faring much better at -21. Carney has the best at +15 and Bloc leader Blanchet has a +16 in the province of Quebec, the province where the Bloc only fields candidates.
However, while the Liberals are looking good so far, there are potential hazards ahead. Out of those polled that say they support the Liberals, only 49% say they are fully locked in for the LPC. This is compared to the Conservatives, where 66% of their supporters say they will definitely vote for them. The NDP looks the most shaky with more of its voters saying they are willing to move to another party than those who are wholesale committed.
Between the tariff threats and sharp rise in Canadian patriotism, this election is shaping up to be a heated, partisan contest. Whoever wins, whether it is Carney or Poilievre, both will have to deal with the tough Canada-U.S. file with Donald Trump at the other end of the negotiation table. Be sure to vote!
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