The prime minister appeared to survive another day of bad polling and caucus unrest in Ottawa Wednesday, but in Alberta, a new poll indicates a strong desire to take it to the voting booths.
“The Liberal Party is strong and united,” a smiling Justin Trudeau told reporters as he emerged from a caucus meeting in Ottawa.
The meeting with frustrating MPs came on the same day a new survey from Angus Reid was released, stating 69 per cent of Albertans do not want to wait until next October to vote.
“Trudeau is long past his best-before date and it’s high time for him to go,” voter Alfred Wiemann told CityNews in downtown Edmonton.
“The Liberals should be given that time of a normal election cycle, so they can put forward a unified front of what they actually want,” said voter Will Fulton, who believes the party sorting out its current “disarray” would make for a better vote.
Across the country, 52 per cent told Angus Reid they want to vote now. That desire was highest in Saskatchewan at 70 per cent, making Alberta a close second.
Conservatives are dominating in the polls, so it’s unsurprising the survey found 91 per cent of their supporters want an early election.
“Folks are struggling with inflation. Things are difficult on a number of fronts, depending on what part of the country you’re in, but the idea of a change election seems to be really resonating,” said Lori Williams, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary.
Some Liberal MPs want Trudeau to step down with at least one calling for that publicly, but Edmonton’s only Liberal cabinet minister said he still supports Trudeau.
“Look, there’s some palace drama going on right now,” Randy Boissonnault told reporters in Ottawa, saying he’s not hearing a desire for an early election while door-knocking in Edmonton.
“They want us to focus on them, to focus on delivering results, and to have a damn fine campaign.”
The next federal election is scheduled for Oct. 30, 2025. That’s the same day as municipal votes in Edmonton and Calgary, which Coun. Andrew Knack believes that would be a bad thing for democracy.
“On the federal side, they’d have to get separate polling stations. So I can see a lot of confusion,” Knack said.
“One of the main reasons I’d like to see a vote at some point before the next municipal election is to try to reduce that confusion.”
Just 14 per cent of Liberal supporters said they want an early vote. Polling site 338 Canada predicts the Liberals will lose about 100 seats and the Conservatives have a 99 per cent chance of winning.