Liberals fall by 17 ridings in latest Nanos poll, Conservatives up eight

By Quinn Patrick

The Liberals are currently projected to form a minority government after falling by 17 ridings over the past several weeks, according to the latest Nanos poll.

Had the election been held last week, the Liberals would have taken at least 156 seats, when Nanos first prepared its projections on April 6. 

However, the party was poised to take 173 seats in their last projections from March 30.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives would have won at least 114 seats, an increase of eight over that same period. 

Regardless of the latest shift in favourability, Nanos said another 53 ridings remain up for grabs. 

The Bloc Québécois saw the largest boost since the latest poll, spiking up from four ridings on March 30 to 17 as of April 10. 

The Liberals have been steadily losing support in Quebec to the Bloc Québécois, barring Montreal, where many ridings remain tight.

The NDP saw little change, holding steady with four seats, including in Leader Jagmeet Singh’s riding of Burnaby-South, B.C.

Still, the Conservatives continue to close out the gap with the Liberals, who now trail just six percentage points behind them.

“It is an East versus West showdown in popular support with the Liberals leading in Eastern Canada, the Conservatives leading in the Prairies and British Columbia being a toss-up,” said Nik Nanos, chief data scientist. 

“The Liberal advantage in national ballot support continues with the party six points ahead of their Conservative competitors (LPC 44, CPC 38, NDP 9).

Nanos noted that much of the Conservatives’ support is concentrated in ridings that are already party strongholds. 

“The East-West division speaks to the political tensions within the federation.  Surely for voters in the Prairies, where the Conservatives enjoy a 25 point lead, it must be difficult to fathom how there are people supporting the Liberals,” said Nanos. 

“Conversely in the East, voters likely underestimate the intensity of pro-Conservative views among Westerners.”

The Liberals regained some lost territory in Toronto, in ridings like Toronto–St.Paul, which saw the party face a major byelection loss last year. 

In B.C., both the Liberals and Conservatives are likely to take seats away from the NDP.

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