Conservatives take tiny lead among decided voters: poll

TORONTO:The Conservative Party has taken a small lead among decided voters, but it is still a very tight three-way race, according to a new poll by Mainstreet Research.
Among decided and what the pollsters deemed “leaning” voters, the Conservatives have 31 per cent support, while the NDP has 30 per cent and the Liberals have 29 per cent. The Green Party had 6 per cent support.
The poll, which reached 5,401 respondents between Aug. 10 and 11, found that among undecided voters, nearly one fifth say they are “leaning” towards supporting the NDP. Fourteen per cent said they were leaning towards supporting the Liberals and seven per cent expressed interest in the Conservatives.
Among only committed, decided voters, the Conservatives hold a slightly wider lead versus their progressive opponents, leading with 32 per cent support versus 29 per cent support a piece for the Liberals and NDP. The poll found 18 per cent of respondents are still undecided.
On his party’s relative buoyancy in campaign polls, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair told reporters that “one thing I have learned in my career is you can’t put a poll in a ballot box” and as an underdog, the party is used to fighting for every moment of attention it can get from the voting public and the media.
Despite the campaign starting in the summer, 79 per cent of respondents told Mainstreet they are following the election “very closely” or “somewhat closely.”
“This is both good and bad news for the candidates and leaders,” Mainstreet Research president Quito Maggi said in a statement. “While this represents an opportunity for all parties to communicate their platforms and policies, it also presents a risk that small missteps could have a significant effect on voter intention numbers.”
On the economic front, 48 per cent of respondents said they felt pessimistic about the state of the Canadian economy, while 27 per cent were optimistic and 25 per cent were unsure. Sixty-one per cent of respondents said they felt Canada was entering a recession.
The poll, commissioned for Postmedia News, used automated telephone calls and has a margin of error of +/- 1.35 per cent, 19 times out of 20.