Mark Carney charts course for Alberta in dying hours of campaign

Andrew Jeffrey · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 27, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Once seen arsenic flyover territory during national campaigns, Alberta has turned into a hotbed of governmental enactment connected the last play earlier predetermination day.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney is travelling to Alberta connected Sunday for a brace of events, with rallies astatine 2:30 p.m. successful Edmonton, and 5:30 p.m. successful Calgary. The sojourn marks Carney's 2nd lawsuit successful Calgary during this campaign. Both events are listed connected the party's website.

The planned visits travel 2 days aft Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre jetted into Calgary connected Friday, drafting a large, cheering crowd. Earlier successful the campaign, Poilievre packed an concern warehouse adjacent Edmonton with supporters, which included erstwhile Conservative premier curate Stephen Harper.

The absorption connected Alberta comes arsenic governmental watchers person speculated respective seats successful some Edmonton and Calgary are choky races betwixt the Conservatives and Liberals. The anticipation of taking aggregate seats successful some cities represents a stark alteration from caller Liberal history.

After the Liberals picked up 4 seats successful Alberta successful 2015, the party's champion effect successful the state successful decades, they were wiped retired crossed Alberta successful 2019, earlier winning Edmonton Centre and Calgary Skyview in 2021.

Pollster Janet Brown says the enactment is dropping successful connected Alberta due to the fact that the quality betwixt a Liberal bulk oregon number authorities could travel down to ridings successful Western Canada.

"Mark Carney is precise focused connected however galore much seats helium needs to flip into bulk territory," said Brown.

"I deliberation he's counting with his fingers and his toes close present that it's going to travel down to idiosyncratic seats."

Brown besides took enactment of Poilievre's sojourn to Calgary connected Friday.

She argues that holding the Conservative party's Alberta seats is important, due to the fact that adjacent if Poilievre loses Monday's election, helium needs to clasp the Liberals to a number and clasp onto enactment enactment truthful helium tin situation them successful different election.

"This is the past enactment of defence for him. This is the spot that's going to support the Liberals to a number truthful the Conservatives tin regroup and possibly effort and triumph different predetermination successful a mates years," Brown said.

Ken Boessenkool, a governmental strategist and spouse astatine Meredith Boessenkool & Phillips, planned respective national predetermination run tours for erstwhile Conservative premier curate Stephen Harper. He said it's not antithetic for the Liberals to halt successful Alberta adjacent the extremity of a campaign, but helium believes 2 rallies determination a time earlier voting closes makes a statement.

"I deliberation it says that the underlying numbers are moving," Boessenkool said. 

"I recognize that the numbers successful Alberta person been shifting implicit the past 48 hours, and I deliberation they're making a play."

A sojourn from a enactment person tin boost section riding polling, Boessenkool estimates, and successful choky races in Calgary and Edmonton wherever helium believes conscionable 2 to 5 per cent volition abstracted the Liberals and Conservatives, helium says that precocious bump could marque a large difference.

The ridings governmental analysts person deemed to beryllium up for grabs successful Calgary, traditionally a Conservative stronghold, include McKnight, wherever the Liberals' lone MP successful the city, George Chahal, is running, arsenic good arsenic Centre, Confederation and Skyview. 

Boessenkool highlighted Calgary Confederation especially, where the Conservatives' Jeremy Nixon and the Liberals' Corey Hogan contiguous popular, credible candidates who some sides volition privation successful their caucus.

In Edmonton, Brown notes the ridings to ticker are the hotly contested contention for the Liberals' spot successful Centre, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi's bid for the Liberals successful Southeast, and 2 NDP-held ridings successful Strathcona and Griesbach during an predetermination wherever she says the New Democrats person fewer harmless seats.

Zeroing successful connected occidental issues

When Carney speaks connected Sunday, Brown volition beryllium watching to spot however overmuch helium focuses connected large predetermination issues for occidental voters similar pipelines and affordability.

"He's astir apt going to speech astir Donald Trump, but the Donald Trump connection successful and of itself is not capable for occidental Canadians," Brown said.

"He's got to speech astir however helium has a caller imaginativeness and voting for him won't beryllium the aforesaid arsenic voting for the Liberal authorities we've had for the past 10 years."

During his Friday quality successful Calgary, Poilievre encouraged supporters to get retired and ballot successful large numbers. He besides pledged the Conservatives would "stand up" for the West, further voicing his enactment for the province's vigor sector.

Rob Russo, The Economist's Canada correspondent, believes that spending precious clip during the last day of the run indicates the Liberals judge respective ridings successful the state are successful play, which is unusual.

Russo added that if Carney wins Monday's national election, he'll request to rapidly code increasing vexation successful Alberta that has spurred immoderate discussions of a nationalist unity crisis.

He argues that connected Sunday, and again arsenic prime minister if helium wins connected Monday, Carney volition person to assure Albertans his authorities volition instrumentality a antithetic attack than the Trudeau government.

"He has fences to mend successful Alberta, and I ideate it's going to beryllium 1 of his archetypal docket items should helium go premier minister," Russo said.

Voting closes connected Monday, April 28.