Above watch: Never in its history has Alberta elected a minority government, but a new poll suggests that’s exactly what voters want to see from Tuesday’s provincial election. Sarah Offin breaks down expected voting trends by age group.
CALGARY – Never in its history has Alberta elected a minority government, but a new poll suggests that’s exactly what voters want to see from Tuesday’s provincial election.
In an Ipsos poll conducted for Global News and Corus Entertainment, 54% of respondents said they believed a minority government would be the best election outcome for the province.
FULL COVERAGE: Alberta election 2015
Fewer than half (45%) of those asked said that a majority government was in Alberta’s best interest, while just 1% said they didn’t know.
However, when it comes to which party would be best at leading a minority government, Albertans were split.
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Of those who said they supported a minority government, 19% thought it should be led by the NDP, 16% thought it should be led by the PCs and 15% thought it should be led by the Wildrose.
Some surprising results from a new Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News and Corus entertainment, suggesting most voters would like to see a minority government. Jenna Freeman reports.
The poll also found that 18% of Albertans will be “holding their nose” as they cast their ballot, saying that while they don’t like the party or leader, they’re voting for them anyway.
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PC voters are the most likely (26%) to say they’re reluctantly voting for their party, while a significant proportion of Wildrose (20%), Alberta Party (17%), NDP (14%) and Liberal Party (11%) voters are doing the same.
The poll also found that the recent budget introduced by the Progressive Conservatives and former Premier Alison Redford’s behaviour were the largest drivers of vote choice heading into the election.
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- 65 per cent of voters said the recent budget has a very / somewhat big impact on their vote
- 59 per cent of voters said Redford’s behaviour and the way she ran Alberta has a big impact on their vote
- 45 per cent said the Wildrose floor-crossers has a big impact
- 36 per cent said how the PCs treated the Wildrose MLAs after they crossed the floor has a big impact
- 34 per cent said the outcome of the leaders’ debate has a big impact
- 21 per cent said public opinion polls have an impact
The NDP also seems to lead on eight of nine key issues in the election campaign, according to the poll. As seen in the table below, the only issue where support for the PC plan is higher is when it comes to a plan that reflects how Alberta wants to be seen on the national and international stage.
| Issue | PC | Wildrose | NDP | Liberal | Alberta Party |
| To create jobs for Albertans | 27% | 21% | 35% | 9% | 5% |
| To have the right level of corporate taxes | 23% | 23% | 35% | 11% | 5% |
| To diversify our economy | 25% | 24% | 32% | 11% | 6% |
| For our town and cities | 24% | 25% | 29% | 12% | 5% |
| For ensuring open and honest government | 18% | 26% | 38% | 10% | 5% |
| That reflects how Alberta wants to be seen on the national and international stage | 32% | 22% | 29% | 9% | 4% |
| For a healthcare system that I can trust to be there when I need it | 18% | 21% | 40% | 13% | 5% |
| For post-secondary education | 19% | 19% | 41% | 12% | 4% |
| That acts in the best interest of taxpayers | 21% | 30% | 34% | 9% | 5% |
On Thursday, Ipsos released a poll suggesting the NDP would claim victory over divided right-of-centre voters in the upcoming election.
Exclusive Global News Ipsos polls are protected by copyright. The information and/or data may only be rebroadcast or republished with full and proper credit and attribution to “Global News Ipsos.” This poll was conducted between April 27 and 29, 2015 with a sample of 761 adults living in Alberta and is accurate to within +/ – 4.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Albertan adults been polled.
BELOW: See the complete poll from Ipsos conducted on behalf of Global News and Corus Entertainment
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