A Leger Marketing survey, commissioned by the Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald, also shows almost 60 per cent of Albertans are "satisfied" with the Progressive Conservative government.
However, half believe one of the opposition parties would do better than the Tories at managing the province - particularly the Wildrose - and a slim majority of those surveyed would prefer to see a new government.
"The momentum at the moment favours Wildrose," Ian Large, Leger Marketing's Alberta vice-president, said Tuesday.
"Campaigns matter, and this campaign is going to matter more than a campaign in Alberta in a very long time."
The telephone poll of 1,215 Albertans, conducted in the four days leading up to the election call Monday, shows 37-per-cent support for the Tories among decided voters and 34 per cent for the Wildrose.
Raj Sherman's Liberals sit at 12 per cent, while the NDP led by Brian Mason have garnered 11-per-cent support. Glenn Taylor's fledgling Alberta Party has about twoper-cent support.
For the Conservatives, who have governed the province for the past 41 years, it's a dramatic drop from highs seen just two months ago, when Leger pegged provincewide support for the PCs at 53 per cent.
At that time, just 16 per cent of Albertans said they would support Wildrose.
More than 2.2 million Albertans are eligible to go to the polls on April 23, but the new survey indicates none of Alberta's left-of-centre opposition parties would have a significant chance of forming the official Opposition if the election were held today.
Large said the main story is "a big surge of support for the Wildrose" in recent weeks and "a big drop in support for Alison Redford and the PCs."
In a January survey by Leger, Wildrose was significantly weaker across the board - most notably in Edmonton.
However, many ridings in the capital can now expect to see three-and four-way races.
The Leger poll, conducted by telephone interviews between March 22 and 25, has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
In Edmonton, the Tories still lead at 37 per cent, but Wildrose now sits at 23 per cent, higher than both the Liberals and NDP - at 16 and 17 per cent, respectively.
"When you have that kind of vote-splitting, it's very, very unpredictable," said Mount Royal University political analyst David Taras.
In Calgary, the two frontrunners are neck and neck. Wildrose support has moved to 35 per cent, while the PC party has 37-per-cent support - down sharply from January.
Outside of Alberta's two largest centres - largely bedrock support for the Tories since 1971 - support for the right-wing Wildrose has more than doubled to 41 per cent, while the PCs stand at 37 per cent.
Original Article
Source: edmonton journal
Author: Kelly Cryderman
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