Federal Conservative party leading in province
Two weeks ahead of the federal election, the Conservatives have taken a commanding lead in Alberta among decided voters, a new poll for Postmedia suggests.
The Mainstreet/ Postmedia poll shows 63 per cent of decided and leaning voters in Alberta would have cast ballots for the Tories if the election were held on Oct. 1, the day they were polled.
Trailing the Conservatives in Alberta are the Liberals, with the support of 19 per cent of decided and leaning voters, followed by the federal NDP, who received 13 per cent of support among survey respondents.
The poll reveals a three- way race shaping up in Edmonton ahead of the Oct. 19 federal election, with the Conservatives in the lead with 34 per cent support, followed closely by the Liberals at 26 per cent and the NDP at 21 per cent.
“The Liberal Party of Canada has not held a seat in Alberta since the 2006 election, when the Conservatives came to office,” said Quito Maggi, president and CEO of Mainstreet.
“That shutout in Alberta appears to be ending with Liberals poised to elect a number of MPs on October 19th in both Edmonton and Calgary.”
Among the 13 per cent of poll respondents across Alberta who said they were undecided, the bulk ( 19 per cent) said they were leaning toward voting Conservative, though 52 per cent said they were still not sure which party they would support.
Of all respondents, including those who were undecided, the majority, at 56 per cent, stated they would support the Conservatives if the election were held the day they were polled.
Behind the Tories were the Liberals, with 16 per cent of support among all voters, followed narrowly by 11 per cent of respondents who said they would support the NDP, if the federal election were held the day they were surveyed. Four per cent of all voters said they would support the Green party.
When broken down by location, the poll revealed that 51 per cent of Calgarians said they would support the Conservatives. In Edmonton, that number dropped to 34 per cent, whereas across the rest of Alberta, 65 per cent of respondents said they would support the Tories if the federal election were held the day they were surveyed.
In Calgary, 22 per cent of respondents said they would vote Liberal, nine per cent stated they would support the NDP, 15 per cent said they were undecided and three said they would cast a ballot for the Green party.
The poll comes after Mainstreet surveyed a random sample of 3,258 Albertans on land lines and cellphones on Oct. 1.
The Mainstreet/ Postmedia poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.71%, 19 times out of 20.
For the full poll results, including questions, go to www.mainstreetresearch.ca.