Good morning,
With the campaign coming to an end as New Brunswickers choose their next government and premier Monday an exclusive Brunswick News poll suggests the Liberals have a significant lead in greater Moncton and are more narrowly ahead in the Fredericton region. But in greater Saint John, they’re in a neck-and-neck race with the Progressive Conservatives. And, while the number of undecided voters is unusually high — between 27 and 29 per cent in each region — Narrative notes in its report that voting intention is also very high. A total of 86 per cent of New Brunswickers polled in the Fredericton area said they would “definitely” vote, followed by another 10 per cent who said they likely would. Those numbers were 83 per cent and 11 per cent in Saint John, and 81 and 14 per cent in the Moncton area.
A great number of voters have already cast their ballots as 133,755 residents took advantage of advance polls, roughly 23.5 per cent of the province’s eligible voters. The unofficial total was reached after two days of advanced polling that saw 110,364 New Brunswickers cast their vote and another 23,391 who have visited returning offices since the Sept. 19 start of the election runoff, according to Elections NB. That’s a figure that eclipses the 2018 general election total of 86,970 ballots over two days. The 23.5 per cent of eligible votes cast still means that almost two thirds of New Brunswick voters are yet to formally make their decision, if turnout remains similar to previous years.
And, as poll numbers are carefully being watched, another significant number saw a drop in the province as inflation in New Brunswick fell below one per cent in September, while it dropped to 1.6 per cent across the country, figures that could strengthen the case for the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates even more quickly. The new numbers show New Brunswick’s inflation rate dropping to 0.9 per cent year over year. That’s only behind Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, and tied with Nova Scotia, for lowest in the country.