With just over a week until voting day, Calgarians are still waiting to learn if Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh will make campaign stops in their city. Read More
’You can get a fairly good idea of where a party’s strengths and weaknesses are by where their leader is going,’ said one political scientist
‘You can get a fairly good idea of where a party’s strengths and weaknesses are by where their leader is going,’ said one political scientist
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With just over a week until voting day, Calgarians are still waiting to learn if Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh will make campaign stops in their city.
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While Liberal party Leader Mark Carney and People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier have each appeared in Calgary since the snap election was called nearly a month ago, neither the Conservative party leader nor the leader of the New Democratic Party have come to Alberta’s largest city.
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However, both Poilievre and Singh have made stops in Edmonton, with the latter set to return to Edmonton’s capital in the coming days.
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The two leaders’ snub of Calgary thus far makes perfect sense when considering where they need to focus their attention, according to one local political scientist.
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“Generally speaking, particularly as the race starts to tighten up as we move closer to election day, you can get a fairly good idea of where a party’s strengths and weaknesses are by where their leader is going,” said Lori Williams of Mount Royal University.
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With speculation that his party will lose several seats this election as more progressives vote strategically to support the Liberals, Singh’s campaigning has focused on holding onto support in the NDP’s current ridings. That includes B.C., where half of the party’s 24 seats are located, as well as Ontario, where the NDP has five seats.
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Singh, who some polls speculate is even at risk of losing his own seat in Burnaby South this election, is set to hold a rally Monday evening in Port Moody, in B.C.’s Lower Mainland. He’s scheduled to be in Edmonton the following day, where he will appear alongside former Alberta premier Rachel Notley.
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“The reality is, for Jagmeet Singh, Edmonton makes sense,” Williams said. “There are at least a couple of seats that are winnable for him in Edmonton, but none that are winnable for him in Calgary. That’s been the case for decades.
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“He has to fight hard to try to maintain enough seats (to retain official party status), so he’s really going to focus the attention on ones that are competitive for him, and that’s where they are.”
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Carney was the first federal leader to hold a rally in Calgary, appearing April 8 in front of a large crowd of Liberal supporters at McMahon Stadium’s Red and White Club.
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Poilievre, a native of Calgary, has yet to appear in his hometown this campaign, though he did hold a rally in Edmonton on April 7, where he received an endorsement from former prime minister Stephen Harper. Poilievre wrapped up his two-day visit to Edmonton with a stop at a tire shop, before jetting east to hold a rally the following night in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.