EXCLUSIVE: PCs trail in Sault Ste. Marie as vote coalesces behind NDP's Vezeau-Allen
NDP has shifted up 10 points since an early campaign poll as Liberal support drops eight points.
A late start and weak launch by local Liberals appears to be fueling a potential upset win by NDP candidate Lisa Vezeau-Allen in Sault Ste. Marie, where the PCs won in both 2018 and 2022, according to an EKOS Research/Impact Strategies poll released Thursday.
The poll finds the NDP at 37 per cent support, PCs 34 per cent and Liberals 19 per cent.
An EKOS/Impact Strategies poll taken February 5, 2025, found PC support at 32 per cent with the NDP and Liberals tied at 27 per cent.
In the 2022 general election, the PCs received 47 per cent support in the riding, the NDP 37 per cent and the Liberals 6 per cent. PC MPP Ross Romano is not running again.
Liberal candidate appointed late, PC faces controversy
The Liberal candidate’s late entry may have been a signal to voters that the NDP is the main challenger to the PCs in Sault Ste. Marie.
Only on February 10 was Gurwinder Dusanjh appointed Liberal candidate. The election was called on January 24.
The New Democrats nominated Lisa Vezeau-Allen, a current city councillor.
PC candidate Chris Scott has faced controversy after Doug Ford by-passed local PC members to appoint him. Scott used to live in Sault Ste. Marie but currently lives in Toronto where he works for the Ford government.
NDP vote more motivated, health care top issue
The survey also showed a significant softness in PC vote. While only 75 per cent of PC supporters said they would definitely vote, 87 per cent of NDP supporters said they would definitely vote.
Health care is the top concern with 49 per cent of Sault Ste. Marie voters.
An estimated 10,000 people in Sault Ste. Marie have lost their primary health care access with the closure of the Group Health Centre, a world-class institution funded that opened in 1962, funded from the paycheques of members of the United Steelworkers union.