Confidence in Canada’s economy at two-year low; how could that affect your vote in the federal election?

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Consumer confidence about the economy is at a two-year low, according to new data and an expert says that affects how people will vote in the upcoming federal election.

Only 11 per cent of respondents believe the Canadian economy will get better in the next six months, compared to 45 per cent who believe it will get weaker. The numbers are based on data from the Bloomberg Nanos survey.

UBC political scientist Max Cameron says Stephen Harper may have a tougher time convincing people that our economy is in better shape than others. Still, he says there are two things that could happen:

“People look at the economic record and say, ‘Do we want to reward the people in office?’ But they also look at their opponents and say, ‘Do we think these people can do any better?'”

So how does that change campaigns?

“I think the Conservative campaign will try to focus on the risks associated with voting for the opposition, and the opposition is going to try to focus on the record of the government,” says Cameron.

He points out when Canadians are feeling bad about the economy, they spend less and historically, downturns like this are very bad for incumbents.

“It’s a slightly different story from the one that I think Stephen Harper imagined himself telling in this election, which — if the election had been held a year ago — would be ‘Times are good. Don’t rock the boat.'”

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