UCP holds narrow lead with upcoming election set to be political horserace: ThinkHQ
A new political poll crafted by ThinkHQ Public Affairs says if an election were held in Alberta today, voters would be split on who should form the next government.
In its findings, ThinkHQ found 48 per cent of those surveyed support Premier Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party while 45 per cent support Rachel Notley’s New Democrats.
“The next provincial election is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in Alberta’s history,” said Marc Henry, president of ThinkHQ.
“As it sits today, the NDP can capture 20 seats out of Edmonton without breaking a sweat, and the UCP can say the same for most of the constituencies outside of the two biggest cities.”
The poll shows Calgary will be the battleground, with Henry saying that will be where the election is won or lost.
Twenty-six seats are up for grabs, 29 if you include those outside the Calgary metropolitan area.
The premier’s office says the UCP are focused on “keeping life affordable, health care delivery, job creation and economic diversification and ensuring Albertans feel safe in their communities.”
“For months, United Conservative MLAs have been meeting with constituents to discuss their priorities and those messages have been heard loud and clear,” said spokesperson Taylor Hides.
Alberta NDP health critic David Shepherd says Calgary is where the NDP needs to make ground in the election.
“We have teachers, folks that have been working on the frontlines of the health care system, folks with deep expertise in the health care system, folks with deep expertise in energy, renewable energy and folks that have worked on building the economy,” said Shepherd.
“We are proud of the team that we’ve had, and know that all those folks are out there every day knocking on doors, talking to Calgarians, because that is where this will be decided.”
Henry says there will be a majority mandate because this is a two-party race.
“The two parties are very evenly matched,” said Henry.
“The UCP has recovered quite a bit of ground with Danielle Smith as the UCP leader, most of it at the expense of the Wildrose party.”
Henry adds that four out of 10 voters don’t like any of the alternatives and are not enthusiastic about going to the polls.
The poll found that more women are inclined to vote for the NDP than the UCP, while more men would cast a ballot for the conservatives.
In Calgary, 45 per cent of respondents support the NDP while 47 per cent support the UCP.
In Edmonton, 58 per cent of respondents would cast a ballot for Notley, only 36 per cent for Smith.
But the UCP had much bigger margins in north, central and southern Alberta, at more than 50 per cent support.
The margin of error for the poll is +/- 2.9 percentage points.
1,144 people were surveyed from across the province.
Alberta’s general election is May 29th.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
BREAKING McGill University seeks emergency injunction to remove pro-Palestinian encampment from campus
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.