Election key battlegrounds includes Quebec, Toronto, BC
Posted May 2, 2011 10:00:06 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA, On. – It is election day and people across the country will be casting their ballots to choose Canada’s next government.
However, to call this election a nail biter could be an understatement because unlike past years, the outcome of the vote is anybody’s guess.
It started out 36 days ago with the Conservatives defeated on a confidence motion in the House of Commons after being found in contempt of Parliament.
At the time, polls suggested Canadians might saddle themselves with a near status quo outcome – yet another Tory minority and a Liberal official Opposition.
But recent support polls over the last week have shown some very interesting races that could shake the foundations of politics in the country.
The New Democrats under leader Jack Layton surging in popular support, and threatening to turn the political landscape on its head and deny Stephen Harper that elusive majority government.
Political scientist Cheryl Collier said factors like strategic voting, vote splitting and the turnout at the ballot box could have an impact.
“That volatility in the split can really play havoc with seat total,” she said. “[But] no matter what we end up with, the fact that we got all these scenarios is really quite interesting.”
The latest Canadian Press Harris-Decima poll appeared Sunday, showed the Conservatives at 36 per cent support, with the NDP six points back at 30 per cent.
The Liberals were languishing at 19 per cent, with the Bloc Quebecois tied with the Greens at six per cent each.
Ignatieff accused Harper of having no vision for Canada, but instead envisioning driving a stake through the heart of the Liberal party.
In his last interview of the election campaign, NDP Leader Jack Layton said he hoped to work together with some or all of the other parties, should he be in a leadership position.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe appeared resigned to his fate Sunday as he campaigned in his own riding.
Duceppe asked his supporters in the Montreal riding of Laurier-Sainte-Marie to let him keep the seat in the House of Commons he’s held since 199
Collier said the key battlegrounds will be Quebec, Toronto and British Columbia, which means we may not have an idea of how this will turn out, until the final votes are counted out west.
