PPC turnout in the West on the rise
Polls are showing progress for the PPC across Canada, but most specifically in the West. A recent EKOS poll has put PPC support as high as 11.7% percent - but that's not all.
In Alberta, the PPC is set to surpass both the Liberals and the NDP in terms of votes at 21% compared to their respective 14% and 18%; a fact that will be to the detriment of the CPC, who has long considered the West an unassailable stronghold.
A True North source also indicates that outgoing CPC MP David Yurdiga has endorsed PPC candidate Shawn McDonald over CPC candidate Laila Goodridge.
“We’re the true conservatives. We’re bringing people home,” McDonald said. “People listen to David. He’s a good man. He really supported the area for many years. He did very good in that, and people really value his work.”
True North also indicated that "all of the members of the federal Conservative and provincial United Conservative Party association boards in the riding have switched their support to the PPC," which is likely to translate into a massive boost in support for the PPC in Fort McMurray-Cold Lake.
Bernier also took the opportunity on the campaign stop to meet with numerous indigenous candidates running under the PPC banner.
Beyond this, Maxime Bernier, who is running in his old seat of Beauce, is actually the neck-and-neck with Richard Lehoux, the CPC incumbent. Over the last year, Bernier's odds of winning the seat have fluctuated between 25% to as high as 50%. With this in mind, the PPC is set to collect 33% of the vote in Beauce compared to Lehoux's 37%. This gap of 4% can easily be bridged , specifically if Bernier goes all in to win back his old riding. The race is simply too close to call - but Bernier may win his old seat after all.
So where's this massive wave of support come from? Previously, we asserted that the PPC has made a name for itself by tapping into Canadians' anger over major issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic response and immigration. Billboards for the PPC echo this notion with the slogan “the other options suck.”
In sum, the PPC's support in the West is the product of wider dissatisfaction with the mainstream Conservatives; something that can also be seen through the creation of the Western separatist "Maverick Party."
