The Pollcast: Counting down to 2019
What we're talking about this week: next year's federal election and New Brunswick's parliamentary puzzle
Only a year remains before Canadians head to the polls for the 2019 federal election, and already the battle lines are beginning to be drawn between the contenders.
- Podcasts: Subscribe to the CBC Pollcast.
- Poll Tracker: Check out the latest projections
Next year's vote is scheduled to be held on Oct. 21, 2019. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals retain a lead in the polls over Andrew Scheer's Conservatives, but it is by no means a comfortable edge with another 12 months to go.
The NDP under Jagmeet Singh is struggling to recover from its 2015 defeat, while the Greens have seen their provincial cousins score victories in British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
The Bloc Québécois is without a permanent leader and its future looks grim after the pasting it received in the recent election in Quebec, while the impact of Maxime Bernier's People's Party on the federal scene still isn't clear.
To break it all down, host and CBC polls analyst Éric Grenier is joined on this week's episode of the Pollcast by Vassy Kapelos, host of Power and Politics on CBC News Network, and Chris Hall, host of CBC Radio's The House.
Then, Jacques Poitras, the CBC's provincial affairs reporter in Fredericton, joins the show to talk about the latest developments in New Brunswick ahead of the first sitting of a deadlocked provincial legislature next week. Will New Brunswick finally learn who will govern the province — or will voters be heading back to the polls again within a year?
Listen to the full discussion above — or subscribe to the CBC Pollcast and listen to past episodes of the show.
Follow Éric Grenier, Vassy Kapelos, Chris Hall and Jacques Poitras on Twitter.