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Taft predicts Liberals will peak during final weekend of campaign Poll shows gap narrowing in recent days

From http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/features/albertavotes/story.htm...



Taft predicts Liberals will peak during final weekend of campaign

Poll shows gap narrowing in recent days

Kelly Cryderman, Calgary Herald; Canwest News Service

Published: 3:05 am



FORT MCMURRAY - Liberal Leader Kevin Taft made a series of promises across northern Alberta on Friday, including commitments for upgrades to a deadly highway south of Grande Cache and an additional MLA for the people of Fort McMurray.



Polls suggest the mood among Alberta voters has changed little during the past two weeks. But with just a weekend left before the vote, Taft maintains his party has yet to hit its peak.



"I'm expecting to see significant shift over the weekend," Taft said in Fort McMurray. "Our candidates are feeling it on the doorsteps. Fifty per cent or more of Albertans want a change of government and they're going to speak on Monday."



Taft was referring to a new Angus Reid poll of 753 people, conducted over Feb. 27 and 28, that found that the opinions of voters have barely budged.



Some aspects of the poll look positive for Taft. Among voters who say they have chosen their party and say they will vote Monday, the PC party has 39 per cent support, and the Liberals at 30 per cent. The NDP is at 13 per cent support and the Wildrose Alliance is at 10. The Angus Reid poll has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points and is considered accurate 19 times out of 20.



Other polls have shown the gap between the governing Tories and Liberals to be much wider.



The lack of movement among Alberta voters must be frustrating to Taft in the campaign's final days, said University of Lethbridge political scientist Peter McCormick.



"I think he's run a very strong campaign," McCormick said, adding Taft has done a good job of presenting himself as a candidate with new ideas.



"Albertans are not listening. But I think that says more about Albertans than Kevin Taft."



Earlieer in Grande Cache, Taft said Highway 40 would get a series of improvements, including widening, within the next three years.



His chartered plane also made stops in Grande Prairie and the Wabasca-Desmarais area.



In Fort McMurray, Taft delved into the tricky politics of electoral boundaries and said a government under his leadership would give the people in the sprawling riding of Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo an additional one or two MLAs to make sure the fast-growing area receives fair representation.



He said it would be up to an appointed commission as to which other parts of Alberta would lose seats to ensure Fort McMurray got more.



"It is the economic spark-plug of this country," Taft said of the municipality and region. "This is a special case and it needs special consideration."



© The Edmonton Journal 2008

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