Some Alberta ridings might not be blue this election, predicts expert

Voters head to cast their ballot in Canada's federal election at the Fairbanks Interpretation Centre in Dartmouth, N.S., on October 21, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

CALGARY – Alberta has long been a bastion for the Conservative party, but this election there could be a few seats up for grabs.

MRU political science professor Lori Williams says there are a couple of factors that could lead to changes.

“Interestingly to me, even though the Liberals are ahead of the NDP, in the Prairies, generally, there is some talk that the NDP might actually be an alternative to the Liberals,” she explained.

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She notes Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s unpopularity in Alberta could move people to look to NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.

“The fact that we’ve got a provincial health emergency underway right now, and a lot of people are mad at [Premier] Jason Kenney, seems to be reverberating not just in Alberta but across the country.”

But Williams says that doesn’t mean those seats would automatically go red or orange. Some ridings may end up turning purple.

“There’s possibly six seats that might be in play in Alberta. And the surge in the People’s Party of Canada vote might actually bring more seats into play, potentially,” she said.

-with files from Joey Chini