After the defeat of floor-crosserDanielle Smith in this past weekend's Tory nominations, things have taken a surprising turn. New poll results, just released, indicate that the Alberta PC Party and the Wildrose Party are in a dead heat for support.
This poll may make Alberta Premier Jim Prentice rethink his spring election plans, but it's unclear whether these results were a byproduct of the tumultuous nominations (and aftermath), or if they're a direct outcome of Alberta's budget, which was also released last week. If an election still goes forward, it's possible that the NDP in the province could come out with a victory.
The poll, conducted by Mainstreet Technologies, has the PC Party and Wildrose tied at 24 per cent support. The survey also suggests a fifth of Albertans are still unsure who they’d vote for.
"Time will tell if this reaction to the new tax measures will have a lasting effect on public opinion or if it is just a temporary effect. It is certainly a drastic change from where we saw public opinion just a few months ago," said Quito Maggi, President of Mainstreet Technologies. "Wildrose support seems to be enjoying a resurgence after many months, perhaps due in part to a honeymoon period after their leadership and backlash against the loss of their former leader Danielle Smith in a PC nomination."
Less than four months ago, Mainstreet showed Prentice and his PC party held a dominating lead with the support of 44 per cent of decided voters, compared to 20 per cent for the leaderless Wildrose.
For more detailed analysis of the poll, Mainstream has provided a nice little audio snippet:
ALSO ON HUFFPOST:
