Canada election race tightens but Liberals still ahead in final week: poll – National

The race to form Canada’s next government is now tighter than ever as the federal election campaign enters its final week, a new poll suggests.

The latest Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News found the Liberals are still in the lead, but are now just three points ahead of the Conservatives, who continue to gain momentum in the home stretch.

The results of the poll, conducted after last week’s televised leaders’ debates, show 41 per cent of surveyed Canadians would vote for the Liberals, down one point from last week, while 38 per cent said they would choose the Conservatives, who gained two points.

The New Democrats earned 12 per cent support, up one point from last week, while the Bloc Quebecois went down one point to five per cent nationally, or 25 per cent support in Quebec. The Green Party and the People’s Party of Canada each earned two per cent support.

The three-point gap between the two leading parties is within the poll’s 3.8 per cent margin of error, and the smallest since the campaign began last month.

Although just over half of voters surveyed by Ipsos said they would prefer a majority government, versus 20 per cent who want a minority, “a tightening race reduces the odds of a majority-government outcome,” the pollster said.

The Liberals had been enjoying a 12-point lead just over two weeks ago, a remarkable turnaround for a party that had been languishing in the polls behind the Tories for years under former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

The election of Mark Carney as Trudeau’s successor has boosted the Liberals’ fortunes, particularly in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty — an issue voters overwhelmingly see the Liberals as the best party to handle, Ipsos polling shows.