Polls continue to show good news for the People’s Party of Canada, with a new survey showing the populist party hitting new levels of support..EKOS Politics daily tracking showed the party surging to a record 11.2% of decided and leaning voters, putting it within striking distance of the traditionally third place NDP, which sits at 15.7%..The Conservatives maintain a slight edge over the Liberals at 33.6% and 30.7% respectively..Most polling firms have tracked the PPC rising from near obscurity at the beginning of the election campaign, to consistently higher numbers that could see the party make a real impact on the September 20 vote.. 20210909slide02Source: EKOS Politics .Broken down by region, the numbers are even more shocking..In Alberta, the PPC has vaulted over the Liberals and NDP into a clear third place at 19%. While still well behind the Tories at 52%, the level of support could yield seats for the PPC if concentrated in specific constituencies..The PPC’s second best showing is in Quebec, where it sat in fourth place at 13%. In that province, the Liberals lead at 31%, followed by the Conservatives at 21%, and the BQ at 18%. The NDP ranked below with PPC in fifth place at 10%..In Ontario, the PPC are breathing down the neck of the NDP for third place, just 2% behind them at 11%, however well back of the Liberals at 39% and the Tories at 33%.. 20210909slide01 .The increase in PPC support appears to be coming not just at the expense of the Conservatives, however, with a noticeable down tick for the NDP and Liberals. The combined support of the CPC and PPC – at 44.8% – is far above that ever obtained by the Conservatives under Harper..Despite the party’s bump in the polls, PPC Leader Maxime Bernier was not invited by the federal government’s Debate Commission to participate in the English or French language leaders debates..Both Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and Green Party Leader Annamie Paul were both invited, despite their parties’ now polling at less than half that of the PPC..EKOS President Frank Graves said on Twitter “It looks very favourable for LPC [Liberal] prospects of winning. The big surprise may be the PPC who continue to strengthen. They are the party of the anti -vax , anti-vax passport now.”.“And for those who have not picked up the PPC surge, you have missed what may be the most interesting and important shift in this campaign.”.Bernier has put opposition to lockdowns, forced-masking, and vaccine passports at the centre of his campaign..The PPC breakthrough comes as O’Toole continues to reorient traditional conservative policies toward a more centrist outlook aimed at winning over Liberals in Central and Eastern Canada..In April, O’Toole shocked many Conservatives when he did away with his leadership campaign pledge to oppose the carbon tax, and instead proposed a carbon tax of his own..Earlier this week, the Tory leader reversed his position on repealing the Liberal gun ban, saying that he will now keep the Trudeau plan in place..The party leaders — less Bernier — will face off in the only English language debate tonight at 7 p.m. MST.
