With one week left in the campaign, Conservatives and Liberals locked in a two-way race, mirroring 2019, says the latest Angus Reid poll. The two front-running parties are dead-locked in a tight race that could produce another minority government but will it be Justin Trudeau holding on to power or will it be the Erin O’Toole led Conservatives taking a first shot at power and governing perhaps with the help of the Bloc Quebecois. New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds the Conservative (32%) and Liberal (30%) parties in a statistical deadlock, with each garnering support from three-in-ten voters. The NDP appear poised to increase their vote share, currently supported by 21 per cent of Canadians after receiving 16 per cent of the vote in 2019.

By PD Raj – Senior Writer DESIBUZZCanada 

TORONTO – The two front-running parties are dead-locked in a tight race that could produce another minority government but will it be Justin Trudeau holding on to power or will it be the Erin O’Toole led Conservatives taking a first shot at power and governing perhaps with the help of the Bloc Quebecois.

The 44th federal election campaign is in its final week, with no party separating itself among Canadian voters, half of whom are saying they’re not yet fully committed to their party choice.

New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds the Conservative (32%) and Liberal (30%) parties in a statistical deadlock, with each garnering support from three-in-ten voters. The NDP appear poised to increase their vote share, currently supported by 21 per cent of Canadians after receiving 16 per cent of the vote in 2019.

Several dynamics have led to the stalemate, including a migration of voters of all age and gender combinations away from the incumbent Liberals. The only exception to this is among young women, where party support has increased four points since the campaign began.

Regionally, the Liberals hold on to a key five-point advantage in Ontario but have ceded ground in British Columbia since the beginning of the campaign. The CPC and NDP now both lead the Liberals in B.C. by double digits. In Quebec, the Bloc Quebecois have pulled into a tie with the Liberal Party.

No leader appears to have gained standing from the federal debates more than BQ leader Yves-Francois Blanchet. While both NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and CPC leader Erin O’Toole had been gaining momentum throughout the campaign, that trend reverses this week, with Blanchet and Green Party leader Annamie Paul both trending upward in public opinion.

As candidates sprint to the finish, they do so with varied support bases. For the Conservatives, half of current voters say they are supporting the party because they dislike another more (53%), not because they like what the CPC is offering (47%). In contrast, 35 per cent of Liberals and 21 per cent of New Democrats say this of their own current vote choice.

More Key Findings:

If voters do switch their choice in the final week, it is the NDP that would gain most. One-quarter (25%) of voters say this would be their second choice, ahead of the Liberals (14%) and CPC (12%). Another quarter (24%) say they have no second choice at all.

The People’s Party continues to gain momentum in this campaign. Six per cent of voters now say they will support Maxime Bernier’s party on Election Day.

Jagmeet Singh leads in post-debate favourability (53%) while both Erin O’Toole (38%) and Justin Trudeau (35%) continue to be unfavourably viewed by a majority of Canadians.