The final stretch of the Alberta election campaign is upon us. While there’s still a week left for candidates to earn votes ahead of election day on April 16, advance polls open Tuesday.
At the same time, a new poll shows while the NDP continues to make up ground on the UCP, the conservative party led by Jason Kenney continues to hold more support from decided and leaning voters than any other single party.
READ MORE: New poll suggests more voters support UCP but NDP gaining ground 1 week before Alberta election
According to the results of a new Ipsos/Global News poll conducted between April 5 and April 9 — after the April 4 leaders debate — there has been a softening of UCP support in Calgary, however the party still has a slight lead in the southern Alberta city.
The poll of 800 eligible voters across the province found the UCP party maintains a strong lead in rural Alberta, while the NDP has a very strong lead in Edmonton.
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Where the leaders are Tuesday on the campaign trail:
NDP Leader Rachel Notley
NDP Leader Rachel Notley is urging the Senate to toss the federal government’s bill to ban tankers off the British Columbia coast “in the garbage.”
READ MORE: Catherine McKenna tried to plant questions in Senate’s environment committee: Tory senator
She also says it’s a double standard given that Ottawa supports the liquefied natural gas industry, tankers on the St. Lawrence Seaway and Newfoundland’s Hibernia oil project.
Notley made the comments via video link from Calgary to senators in Ottawa meeting to discuss Bill C-48.
The bill would make law an existing moratorium on tankers carrying more than 12,500 tonnes of crude oil in the waters between the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the Alaska border.
The legislation passed in the House of Commons last spring and is being debated in the Senate.
“Let’s show Canadians that 90,000 jobs in downtown Calgary are just as important as 90,000 jobs in downtown Montreal,” Notley told the senators Tuesday.
“Don’t block us, back us,” she said.
“Toss C-48 in the garbage where it belongs.”
United Conservative Leader Jason Kenney
UCP Leader Jason Kenney cast his ballet in downtown Calgary Tuesday morning.
He will be speaking with candidates and volunteers in four different ridings in the afternoon, ahead of a door-knocking blitz.
Kenney was also on hand at the rally as the Senate’s Bill C-69 committee hearing began.
The UCP leader is threatening legal action over the controversial Bill C-69, which critics say will kill the pipeline industry in Canada and decimate the energy industry.
Kenney says he’s willing to have a conversation and start on a path of consensus.
“However, I have to judge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the basis of his actions and virtually every policy decision taken by his government has been injurious to oil and gas jobs and the Alberta economy in general.”
Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel
Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel was in Calgary Tuesday where he announced a plan to create 45,000 new post-secondary spaces.
Mandel said the new spaces would be created by 2024, and include spots at universities, colleges and technical institutes. Of these spaces, 3,000 will be dedicated to Indigenous-led programs, the party said.
Consideration will be given to satellite campuses in underserved parts of the province, Mandel said.
The party’s post-secondary plan would retain the current cap on tuition at Alberta institutions. The plan would also eliminate tuition fees for high school upgrading and English language learning programs.
Mandel said his government would also expand the STEP program (Student Temporary Employment Program) to run year-round and include people who have recently graduated from a post-secondary program.
The party would also establish a program to encourage Alberta graduates to use their post-secondary education and skills in Alberta, Mandel said.
Liberal Leader David Khan
Calgary — Making calls at campaign HQ (9 a.m., 906 Centre St North)
Liberal Leader David Khan cast his ballot in an advanced vote at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).
Calgary — Door knocking in Calgary (11:30 am.. – 2 p.m., 3 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.)
Corus Alberta radio coverage
— With files from The Canadian Press