As was widely expected, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called a federal election for September 20, seeking to capitalize on polls showing Canadians approve of his government’s handling of the pandemic.
Public opinion surveys show Trudeau’s Liberals, in power since 2015, currently have support around 35%, near the threshold they’ll need to regain majority control of the 338-seat House of Commons.
Trudeau will have to make gains among swing voters in key suburban ridings around Montreal and Vancouver and perform well in Toronto and southern Ontario. The Conservative Party is the Liberals’ key opponent, although the New Democratic Party has pockets of strong support, and the Bloc Quebecois remains a political force in Quebec.
Trudeau will campaign on the message that continuity is needed to fight the pandemic and continue the economic recovery. “Canadians need to choose how we finish the fight against COVID-19 and build back better,” the prime minister said at a news conference Sunday (August 15) announcing the election.
Half of Canadians believe Trudeau’s government has done a good job of managing the COVID-19 crisis, according to a poll by Nanos Research Group. Another 26% are neutral on the question.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business was quick to question the timing of the election, calling it an “unneeded distraction.”
Only one-third of small businesses in Canada are back to normal levels of sales and the average small firm has taken on $160,000 in pandemic-related debt, according to CFIB data.
Talk of a fourth wave hitting Canada has grown in recent days. The national health agency said that active cases of COVID-19 had more than doubled in the previous two weeks to 13,000.