PC Party rebounds in new poll

The strongest support for the New Democrats is in Edmonton, which at 29 per cent is still behind the 36 percent for the Tories.

The survey also shows strong support for the “Unite the Right” concept. Of those who had made up their minds, two-thirds said they either strongly or somewhat support a merger between the PC and Wildrose parties.

Dr. Faron Ellis, research chair at Lethbridge College, said while the two and a half years until the next election is an eternity in politics, many people are lining up behind the idea of a united right being promoted by leadership candidate Jason Kenney, while the Wildrose hasn’t been able to grow beyond its core support.

“The Progressive Conservatives, on the other hand, seem to be picking up a large number of more moderate voters who, if they voted for the NDP last time are reconsidering. And if they voted for the New Democrats the last time, the odds are they’re never going to vote for Wildrose,” Ellis said.

“The idea of a Conservative party led by Jason Kenney, more moderate than Wildrose, and that unites the two parties, right now has the momentum in what is a very fluid partisan sitaution here in Alberta.”

As for the NDP, he feels the party used up its political capital by trying to do too much, too quickly.

“Albertans, yes, wanted a change (but) things like a carbon tax were never mentioned in the New Democrats’ platform,” he said, adding other aspects didn’t get a lot of attention until late in the campaign.

“For a government that’s only been in power for a year and a half, they’ve probably done a full mandate’s worth of small initiatives that have alienated large groups of voters.”

The survey was conducted Oct. 1-8 by Lethbridge College students who spoke by phone to 1,513 adult Alberta residents, including both landline and mobile phone users. The poll has a margin of error for provincewide results of +/- 2.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

The full report can be found here.

by Geoff Smith (@smithco on Twitter)

PC Party rebounds in new poll

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