The Alberta election’s outcome is too close to call, with the NDP having a slim 1% lead province-wide, according to a poll conducted by Sovereign North Research and provided to the Western Standard. .The Alberta NDP would win with 49% of the vote if an election were held now, according to the poll. Meanwhile, the Alberta United Conservative Party would be close behind (48%). .Subsequent to the Alberta UCP would be the Alberta Party (2%). This was followed by the Alberta Greens and other (1%). .Despite the NDP having a slim lead, this is because it beats out the UCP in Edmonton (59% to 37%). During the 2019 election, the NDP held onto every seat in Edmonton except one. .That seat is Edmonton-South West, where UCP candidate Kaycee Madu is up against a tough challenge from his NDP rival Nathan Ip. Madu is his party’s best hope at having any blue in Edmonton. .The two parties are tied in Calgary (47%). While the UCP has strong support in suburban ridings in Calgary, the NDP are leading in the downtown core. .There is a three-way tie for third place between the Alberta Party, Greens, and other (2%). .Since Calgary is the main battleground in this election, the two parties have focused on holding their events in the city. After all, the path to an NDP majority lies in it flipping Calgary seats. .The UCP has a large lead over the NDP in central Alberta (63% to 34%). Its lead is smaller in southern Alberta (53% to 44%). .The UCP is leading in northern Alberta at 51%, and the NDP is at 44%. The one northern riding polls indicate could flip is Sherwood Park. .When asked which party leader people would prefer to see as premier following the election, Notley (51%) edges out Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (49%) by two percentage points. .When asked if they have a favourable or unfavourable opinion of the party leaders, Notley’s rating is almost even (48% to 47%). While Smith’s rating has been improving, it remains unfavourable (39% to 52%). .There are 48% who stated they would prefer a UCP majority (45%) or minority (3%) government. Half said they would prefer an NDP majority (44%) or minority (6%). .This poll comes after Smith and Notley went toe to toe on Thursday in the Alberta Leaders’ Debate, with the pair landing blows but no knockout punch..READ MORE: Smith says Notley won't run on her record, it was an 'absolute disaster'.Opening remarks had a one-minute time limit, then 10 questions were asked with a limited response of 45 seconds. The order to speak first was a random draw, with Smith winning..“This election comes out to a choice between a UCP government that lowers taxes, balanced the budget, and returned Alberta to its place as the economic powerhouse of Canada, or we could choose to go backward with the same failed NDP policies that hike taxes, drove out jobs and investment, and almost bankrupted our province,” she said. .The poll was conducted through interactive voice response technology and texting from May 19 to 20 with 2,079 Albertan adults. It has a margin of error of +/- 2.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
