British Columbians will likely be headed to the polls soon, with Prime Minister Mark Carney expected to call a snap election on Sunday.
It comes with U.S. tariff and annexation threats now a key election issue, and amid a dramatic reversal of the federal parties’ fortunes, according to recent polling.
After holding a commanding 25-point plus advantage, the Conservatives have slid to second place according to Ipsos polling. Carney’s Liberals have surged to first place with 42 per cent support, and the NDP has collapsed to just 10 per cent nationally.
“It’s unprecedented, I have never seen anything like it at the federal level, I have never seen a political party driven into the ground by a leader come back to life,” University of the Fraser Valley political scientist Hamish Telford said.
“The implosion of the NDP is one of the big features of the polling that we have seen. If this holds up, I think we could anticipate the Liberals picking up more seats in urban areas, including possibly southern Vancouver Island, which is unusual for them,” he added.
“In rural areas, the Conservatives might pick up seats, so upper Vancouver Island and northern B.C.”
The snap election call means that all major parties will likely appoint a higher-than-usual number of candidates, rather than the typical but time-consuming nomination process.
Global News has learned former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson is considering a run for the Liberals, potentially in the Vancouver-South riding.
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Former B.C. premier Christy Clark is also considering a Liberal run, but there are concerns internally about her favourability numbers.
Retiring Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer has been linked to a run for the Conservatives.
Telford said the ability parties to recruit star candidates can be read as a sign of momentum.
“That generates enthusiasm in your party, with your other candidates, with your volunteers, with your campaigners, with your donors,” he said.
“If you can’t recruit them, it has all of the opposite effects.”
While the writ has yet to be dropped, all three leaders were out on the unofficial campaign trail on Thursday.
Carney was in Edmonton where he announced a Liberal run by Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and dropped an early campaign plank: the elimination of GST on new and “substantially renovated” homes valued under $1 million for first-time homebuyers.
“You can see the action,” Carney said.
“I haven’t been prime minister for a week yet, and you can see what we’ve done this far, and we can do even more with that strong clear mandate to move forward for the country, for all Canadians.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, meanwhile, attacked Carney for failing to publish all information about his financial holdings, calling it unacceptable.
“He expects us to elect him without knowing the many millions of dollars of conflicts that will make it impossible for him to do his job, interests that go against the national interest,” Poilievre said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, meanwhile, was in Hamilton where he argued both the Conservative and Liberal leaders were cut from the same cloth.
“You have got Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney, they are in it for the billionaires,” he said.
While a spring election is all but certain at this point, what remains unclear is the date.
Sources say Carney is expected to call the vote for April 28 or May 5.
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