Families to talk turkey, sway votes?
With advance polls open all weekend, undecided may choose sides at dinner table
OTTAWA— A few slices of turkey, some helpings of dressing and mashed potatoes — and perhaps a side order of political debate.
Families are gathering across the country for Thanksgiving this weekend, and with the federal election barely a week away, dinner table discussions could prove key as talk turns to politics and undecided voters mull their picks for the Oct. 19 vote.
There could even be some long weekend plotting as voters opposed to Stephen Harper and his Conservatives decide whether their vote is best cast for the Liberals or New Democrats.
And with advance polls open all weekend, Canadians can take a break between the turkey and the pumpkin pie to cast their ballot.
“It’s a critical weekend because it is very close to the final stages of what has been a very arduous and protracted campaign,” said Frank Graves, president of EKOS Research Associates.
“People are more focused and . . . almost certainly a lot of families will turn their attentions to this debate,” Graves said in an interview.
Past elections have shown that between 20 and 30 per cent of voters don’t make up their minds until the final stages, said Paul Nesbitt-Larking, a professor of political science at Huron University College, in London, Ont.
And whether this weekend is a chance to discuss politics or simply a break from life’s other intrusions, it still represents a chance to make decisions about voting picks.
“This is a really great opportunity for families and friends to meet and to have a little bit of downtime and relaxation, to assess where the campaign has gone,” Nesbitt-Larking said in an interview.
With the debates over and party platforms released, voters now have much of the information they need to make their picks, he said.
“It really is a time when many people are going to be beginning to crystallize their thoughts.”
Not that the Thanksgiving table talks promise to be easy. That’s because a campaign that started with a focus on national security and the economy has morphed into more divisive debates.
As a result, Graves doesn’t expect weekend conversations to focus on the economy, the state of the middle class or the merits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
Instead, he predicts debates around niqabs or Syrian refugees, issues that have dominated the campaign in the recent days.
These are issues where viewpoints split along age, education and class lines, setting the stage for what could be tense Thanksgiving discussions, Graves said.
Harper opposes the wearing of niqabs at citizenship ceremonies, calling them the product of a culture that is “anti-women” — a view that appeals to older Canadians, Graves said.
“Seniors are really moved by these measures to attract voters to the Conservative base.”
However, Canadians with higher education are likely to be concerned by such statements, the pollster said.
Divisive as it is, the debate around the niqab has boosted Harper’s electoral fortunes, Graves said, proving more successful than the Conservatives’ focus on the economy.
“None of that was impressing anyone. But this stuff has definitely moved voters his way, big time in Quebec,” Graves said.
“Frankly, I don’t think this election at the end of the day will be about the economy. It’s going to be about identity and values and citizenship and a whole bunch of things that nobody would have predicted.”
Graves said Mulcair and Trudeau are left with just two options to try and erode Conservative support in the final days.
“The challenge will be to change the channel, at least partly back to the things where Mr. Harper has a tough time, or to come up with your own compelling values narrative and take this on squarely,” he said.
Lorne Bozinoff, president and CEO of Forum Research, said that the long weekend — the third holiday weekend of the campaign — could also offer the chance for some strategic plotting by the country’s centre-left voters on how best to cast their ballots to block another Conservative victory.
“There’s a large number of people on the centre-left that want to get rid of Harper and they’ll be thinking about how to do that,” Bozinoff said.
“I think the weekend is a good time for them to think about it further and talk to other people.
“There’s been a lot of kicking of the tires from August onward, weeks and weeks of it. I think some of that is still going on,” he said.
Bozinoff said there is large interest in the election, especially given how the race has stayed close between the three parties.
Voters can get a jump on election day by casting a ballot at advance polls, which will be open all weekend from noon to 8 p.m. Voters can find the location of the advance polls in their neighbourhood at the Elections Canada website.