Party leaders to crisscross Canada in final election campaign week

As federal election day continues to inch closer, party leaders will be journeying across Canada this week, hoping to earn voters’ confidence and come out victorious on April 28.

One B.C. expert believes Liberal Party Leader Mark Carney is in the driver’s seat, and has the most to lose, as polls have Carney either ahead or in a tie with Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives.

Hamish Telford, political science associate professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, says Carney just needs to stay the course and seal the deal this week.

“[Carney] came into politics at an extraordinary moment with a lot of goodwill from the public, and he just has to finish strong and not give people any reason to doubt their initial impression of him,” Telford explained.

Telford explains that Poilievre’s job is more difficult, and he’s unsure if Poilievre has connected with undecided voters.

“It’s not that his party has tanked, so much as it is that the other parties have tanked, and that support for those parties has gone over to the Liberals,” Telford said of the Liberal vote. “It’s going to be very difficult for Mr. Poilievre to make his case and expand beyond his current levels of support with voters who are either fearful of Donald Trump and or fearful of Pierre Poilievre.”

Telford explains that the New Democratic Party is in even more trouble, and those who would have previously voted for Jagmeet Singh’s party have now shifted to the red.

Telford explains that if the NDP doesn’t win at least 12 seats, it will lose official party status.

He adds that, unlike what we’ve seen in most recent elections, votes cast here in B.C. will make a difference to the final result.

“The way Elections Canada works it now, with staggered closing, it’s not quite stark as it used to be, but I do think the rest of the country is going to have to tune into British Columbia. I think British Columbia will determine if one party or the other gets a majority government, and so people out east are going to have to stay up and wait for our results to be counted.”

Federal election day is April 28. Make sure to check out the CityNews guide to the 45th federal Canadian election here.