Finally, some good news for Canada’s Conservative party. For the first time since the federal election was announced, a poll last week showed them in the lead, and polls over the weekend show them closing in on the Liberal party. They’re not where they were, but it’s progress.
In early January, the much-loathed Trudeau was stepping down, both Liberals and the New Democrats were highly unpopular, and the Conservatives, with a no-nonsense economic platform were considered a shoo-in for the next election.
But thanks to Canada-US tensions over border security and tariffs, Liberals have been topping every poll since the beginning of the election campaign. The Conservative’s Pierre Poilievre is staying steadfastly on message, but doesn’t seem to be generating the same enthusiasm.
His improvement in the polls is likely due to two things – a measure of relief from American pressure, as Trump’s laser beam swings away from Canada towards the rest of the world – and Poilievre’s very slight shift towards social issues, which he has scarcely mentioned since the beginning of the election campaign.
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