Conservatives channel Viagra as record Ontario voters risk killing their mood: Election Power Meter
Welcome to National Post’s campaign Power Meter, where we will track the shifting tides of the election. As the race unfolds, we’ll rank parties, candidates and other characters based on momentum, performance, and public perception. Who’s gaining ground? Who’s losing steam? Keep checking in as we measure the moments that could shape the outcome.
BATTLE OF ONTARIO:
Hockey’s “Battle of Ontario” got off to a one-sided start on Sunday when the Toronto Maple Leafs spanked the Ottawa Senators 6-2 on home ice. And the battle for Ontario’s 122 federal seats looks to be trending in a similarly lopsided direction with less than a week to go until election day.
Poll aggregator 338Canada
had the Liberals ahead in 82 Ontario districts and competitive in as many as 95 districts on Tuesday. The Liberals haven’t flirted
with the 100-seat mark
in Canada’s largest province since the early 2000s. The Conservatives, meanwhile, could tumble as low as the mid-20s in their Ontario seat count after winning 40 seats there in the last federal election in 2021.
POWER METER RATING: POTENTIAL KINGMAKER
EARLY VOTING:
Easter long weekend was anything but restful for election workers as 7.3 million Canadians
flocked to the polls
over four days of advanced voting, shattering the old record of 5.8 million, set during the last federal election in 2021. Wait times of well over an hour were reported at multiple precincts, with some voting stations
even running out of ballots
. Some political scientists predicted at the start of the campaign that
the election’s high stakes
, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to both the economy and national sovereignty, would drive up turnout to levels not seen in decades. The robust early turnout numbers so far back that up.
POWER METER RATING: YUGE!
Targeted ads:
The Conservative Party created quite the buzz with
a 30-second spot
depicting two seniors talking politics at the driving range. The ad caught a number of eyeballs over the long weekend when it was slotted into the
heavily watched first round
of the NHL playoffs. Just in case there was any ambiguity over the target audience,
a casting call dug up
by journalist Stephen Maher shows directors were looking for “two non-union White male performers aged 65-75.” And while the ad contained familiar Conservative blue branding, some viewers
couldn’t help but notice
its generous borrowing of well-worn tropes from ads for
a little blue pill
.
POWER METER RATING: SENIOR STIMULATING
National Post
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