By Canadian Press

New poll highlights why affordability is 2019 federal campaign buzzword

Sep 19, 2019 | 2:32 AM

OTTAWA — A new poll suggests nearly 40 per cent of Canadians are having trouble getting by or going into debt to do so, and a further 26 per cent say they’ve got to scrimp and save to make ends meet. 

But when it comes to which political party is best suited to help them out, 36 per cent of those who took part in Leger’s latest survey are unsure.

The results underscore why affordability is the main theme of the 2019 election, with the three main parties pledging to do more to address concerns they hear about life becoming too expensive.

Nationally, 24 per cent of respondents said they believe the Conservatives can best address that issue, compared with 20 per cent for the LIberals and 10 per cent for the NDP.

But economists note that the ability of any political party to address questions of affordability is challenging, since means entirely different things to different groups of people.

Community support

The Hunger Games return to Prince Albert

5m ago

Raiders win 5-3

Defensive scoring leads Raiders over Wheat Kings

7h ago

GST Holiday

Federal government's two-month GST holiday begins

23h ago

The poll surveyed 1,598 eligible voters selected from Leger’s online panel; internet-based surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because online polls are not considered random samples.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2019.

The Canadian Press