Federal leaders make stops in Maritimes as election enters home stretch

Several key Maritime ridings are up for grabs in the upcoming federal election.

As the federal election enters the home stretch, many Maritimers are thinking about their top ballot issues.

“Certainly housing is an issue, infrastructure,” says voter Ruth Maybee.

“The biggest one is our relationship with our neighbours south of the border,” says Deb Tamlyn.

Canadians are just days from learning who the next prime minister will be. In a tight race, Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre both made stops in the Maritimes this week.

“It’s great to be here in Nova Scotia in this change election, and there is one word that describes the election: change. Change so you can afford food, change so you can afford homes,” Poilievre said at a Halifax rally on Thursday.

“We can build new trade corridors through the Port of Halifax with reliable trading partners for a change,” Carney said during an appearance in Nova Scotia.

With some ridings still up for grabs, the stops are strategic and can swing a close election.

“They have identified certain ridings where they think they’re in tight and their presence can help make the difference between winning or losing in those ridings,” political science professor Alex Marland says. “There is some research to indicate that it can give you a bump of two-to-three per cent.”

The focus on the east hasn’t gone unnoticed by the electorate

“I think that shows deeper interest and respect,” says Tamlyn.

The most recent Nanos poll shows the gap between the Liberals and Conservatives shrinking. Carney has 42.9 per cent support with Poilievre closely following at 39.3 per cent.

“As things narrow what we usually see is, sure, leaders will be here in Nova Scotia, but it’s Ontario where there’s a lot of battleground seats, it’s British Columbia. That’s where we’re really going to see the leaders spending a lot of time,” Marland says.

Carney spent part of Thursday in B.C. before heading to Winnipeg, where Jagmeet Singh also held a rally.

Poilievre flew to Saskatchewan following his stop in Nova Scotia.