Front-runners deadlocked after campaign week 1, but small signs favour Liberals

Sep 18, 2019 | 1:35 AM

OTTAWA — A new poll suggests the opening week of the federal campaign did little to change the dynamic of the race to the Oct. 21 election.

Respondents to the Leger poll, conducted Sept. 13-17 for The Canadian Press, put the Liberals and Conservatives in a virtual tie, with support for the governing party unchanged at 34 per cent and the Tories down two points to 33 per cent.

The NDP and Greens continued in a dead heat for a distant third place, with 12 and 11 per cent respectively, unchanged from the Leger poll conducted just prior to last Wednesday’s official start of the campaign.

However, the new poll detected a number of small shifts which cumulatively suggest there was a bit of an uptick in Liberal fortunes, including a decrease in the appetite for a change in government.