A StFX political science professor says the election will be more about personality and values than policy.
Yvon Grenier says there isn’t much real difference in platform between members of the parties likely to win.
He says the Liberals and Conservatives are statistically tied.
Grenier tells The Hawk there aren’t meaningful policy differences between members of those two parties, and most of the others.
“A big difference between this one and the 2015 elections is that we don’t seem to have many very crucial, very important issues, anymore to discuss,” he says. “There seems to be more of a consensus over a number of issues that used to be contentious.”
Grenier says members of all parties, with the exception of the PPC, have some kind of climate plan, cannabis is a closed issue, and they’re all planning to run deficits.
He says scandals haven’t really affected polling numbers, but it’s very likely whoever wins the election will do so with a minority.
Grenier says this means local ridings may be more likely to revert to historical norms.
He says a riding like Cape Breton-Canso, where a popular long-time incumbent has decided not to re-offer, is still very much up for grabs, while Central Nova’s status as a traditionally Conservative riding means Sean Fraser, the incumbent Liberal candidate, will have to work to maintain his seat.
