No clear frontrunner as Election Day nears, says pollster

OTTAWA — Who will be Canada’s next prime minister? Results of early polling has found that answer still up in the air. Maru Public Opinion CEO John Wright says the race is so tight it is tough to predict.

“We are still not able to tell who is going to win this election campaign,” Wright said.

The Liberals and the Conservatives are still hovering around 31 per cent support, and Wright says it is really going to come down to voter turnout.

“The best polling will tell you that the Liberals have a slight advantage going into this week. But what it doesn’t tell you is the motivation of actual voters to get out and vote. I mean pollsters will measure intention what they will see right now is eight in 10 Conservatives are more likely to go out to vote than seven in 10 Liberals,” he said.

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He does think the race will be tight and with no clear front runner, it may come down to another minority government.

“If there was a vote held tomorrow we would likely end up with a minority government. Who runs the minority I’m not sure,” he said.

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The People’s Party of Canada is holding at six-and-a-half per cent, he says the polls show a small support due largely to anti-vaccine and anti-restrictions, but he doesn’t think the party will win a seat.

As Election Day approaches, the federal party leaders are making their final push to get Canadians’ support.

The election is only a week away, and Monday is the final day to advance vote. On the first day alone of advance voting some 1.3 million Canadians cast their ballot.

Tuesday is the final day to apply to vote by mail and must be done before 6 p.m. Applications can be submitted online or by contacting an Elections Canada office.

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Elections Canada says it is ready for more people to cast an early ballot, or to vote by mail, however workers will also be ready to be COVID-19 safe for in-person voting on Sept. 20.

Precautions include plexiglass dividers and mandatory masks.

With files from Richard Southern