A recent poll from the Angus Reid Institute suggests that a slim majority of Canadian voters are “uncommitted” to any particular party going into the unofficial election season.
With a 52/48 percent split, undecided voters make up the majority of the electorate, leaving party leaders to choose carefully which issues to support to win over potential support.
Currently, the Conservative Party is working with the least amount of pliable uncommitted voters, as 66 per cent have not ruled out the NDP, 62 per cent have not ruled out the Liberals, and only 53 per cent have not ruled out the Conservatives.
Uncommitted voters are more likely to be female, with three-quarters of the female population under the age of 35 undecided on a party. Conversely, men over the age of 55 are most likely to have decided on a party already.
When asked to identify the key issue that would affect their decision in the election, an overwhelming amount of uncommitted voters identified the improvement of health care access and transparency in the federal government. Following closely were the issues of climate change, affordable housing access, and taxes.
The younger age group, 18 to 34 years old, are more likely to place climate change and health care as first priorities, while Canadians over the age of 55 are more likely to be concerned about health care, immigration policy, and the federal deficit.
This data leaves the universal Pharmacare program and climate change initiatives as top priority issues for the upcoming election, as well as the Liberal’s SNC-Lavalin scandal.
The Conservative Party has double the committed voter base than the Liberal Party, but has a smaller uncommitted base of voters to draw from. Male uncommitted voters are more likely to be considering the Conservatives, while female uncommitted voters lean more towards the Liberals.
The NDP, though considered to trail behind the governing and opposition parties, has undecided voters showing substantially more faith regarding key issues than both the Conservatives or Liberals.
The data suggests that the upcoming election is ripe with both opportunities and burdens for each party, as they compete to lock in the malleable segments of voters without alienating the groups who have already declared their support.
