The Nova Scotia Liberals are polling well ahead of their rivals in the first week of the province’s election campaign.
The McNeil Liberals have 42 per cent support among decided and leaning voters, according to a poll conducted by Mainstreet for the news site iPolitics. The Progressive Conservatives have 29 per cent support and the NDP have 25 per cent. The Greens have four per cent support.
Twenty-five per cent of respondents were undecided.
READ MORE: All our Nova Scotia Election 2017 coverage
“I think it would be a majority government if the election were held today,” said David Valentin, the executive vice-president for Mainstreet.
This is the first public poll since the election started on Sunday. It was conducted on May 1 and 2 using automated phone calls and sampled 1,000 Nova Scotians. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The poll is in line with previous polls from MQO Research and Corporate Research Associates — both registered steep declines for the Liberals after the teachers dispute ended with a legislated contract in February.
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Three-way race shaping up in Halifax
While the provincial numbers show a safe start to the campaign for the Liberals, it suggests the parties will spend most of the campaign slugging it out in Halifax.
The Liberals lose their strong lead in the province’s capital — polling at 36 per cent among decided and leaving voters compared to 31 per cent for the NDP and 29 per cent for the Tories. The Greens have three per cent support in Halifax.
“It’s a much, much tighter race in Halifax,” said Valentine.
The margin of error in Halifax is also bigger at +/- 4.76 percentage points 19 times out of 20. The group of undecided voters in Halifax stands at 22 per cent.
Valentine said that for the Liberals the lead is probably “too close for their liking.”
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