Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Up For Grabs

Cameron Strategies has a new poll out and there's a real Alberta stampede of voters away from Ed Stelmach. Still, the news isn't all good for the Alberta Liberals, who can't seem to capitalize on the "free agent voters" out there. The result is a remarkable 36% undecided rate - I don't think I've ever seen numbers that high in political polls. As a result, the potential for one of those once in a generation Alberta political shifts is there...it remains to be seen if anyone is able to capitalize on it during the general election.

Province-Wide
PC 32% (-22% in January)
Lib 16% (+0%)
NDP 11% (+2%)
Alliance 5% (+2%)

Calgary
PC 30%
Lib 17%
NDP 8%
Alliance 5%

Ed Stelmach Approval Rating
Strongly approve 7%
Somewhat approve 38%
Somewhat dissaprove 20%
Strongly dissaprove 11%
(Calgary: 38% approve, 40% dissaprove)

Right Track/Wrong Track
Right direction 26% (-28% from January)
Wrong direction 30% (+20% from January)

Top Issues
Healthcare 29%
Homelessness 22%
Crime 17%
Infrastructure 15%
Education 13%
Rent Control 12%
Taxes 11%
Drugs 11%

Labels: , ,

posted by calgarygrit at 11:48 a.m.

4 Comments:

  • I sure hope we can capitalize on this drop in support; the fact that the undecideds are not choosing the Liberals instead means that we still aren't a viable option in their minds. This needs to change.

    By Blogger Brandon E. Beasley, at 2:52 p.m.  

  • This needs to change.

    It won't change until the Liberals have a leader of the caliber of either Peter Lougheed (the last Opposition leader to become Premier) or Lawrence Decore (who came close). Is Kevin Taft the person for that job? I don't think so, though he might still surprise me. If the Liberals do lose their 23rd consecutive election, then I think a switch is in order. Among the current crop of MLAs, I think Dave Taylor (from Calgary) would be their best bet.

    By Blogger Brian in Calgary, at 3:55 p.m.  

  • It’s a little premature to be talking about replacing leaders. Seems a little Parti Québécois-ish to me, and we all know how well that work out in the last Quebec provincial election.

    The Alliance Party had a stand in front of the Legislature yesterday at lunch with delicious corn from Taber. I wonder if they’ll be our ADQ? Or will it be the Wildrose Party? Here’s the scariest thought I’ve had to date concerning Albertan politics: consider how bad it would be to have a PC minority with the Alliance Party holding the balance of power. Why the Liberals need to win – and why any Albertan with a progressive bone in their body needs to vote and chose carefully – should be blatantly obvious.

    By Blogger Matt Grant, at 12:01 p.m.  

  • Is Kevin Taft the person for that job?

    Actually, I think Taft has done a very good job getting his message out to the public - especially in the shadow of an overwhelming Conservative majority and very limited resources.

    Additionally, Taft is not perceived as a polarizing person between Calgary and Edmonton - as Decore was.

    By Blogger MgS, at 11:46 a.m.  

Post a Comment

<< Home