Strategic voters could be important factor in Regina, Saskatoon

A new poll shows nearly one in three people in Saskatchewan aims to vote strategically — meaning they may not go with their first choice.

The poll was released this morning by the national public research firm Mainstreet and the Postmedia newspaper chain.

According to the poll of 2,800 Saskatchewan people who were surveyed on Oct. 6, 28 per cent plan to vote strategically in the upcoming election, 49 per cent say they won't vote strategically and 22 per cent say they're not sure.

The numbers don't add up to 100 per cent due to rounding.

Strategic voting occurs when a voter makes a choice based on the candidate deemed most likely to defeat another candidate. 

Sometimes called voting with one's head rather than one's heart, it often means the voter goes with their second choice.

The poll shows the Conservatives leading by a wide margin in rural areas, but much closer races in the two major cities.

The NDP is slightly ahead of the Tories in Saskatoon, whereas in Regina the Conservatives have a five and six percentage point lead over the New Democrats and the Liberals respectively.

The pollsters say while there are plenty of Liberal and NDP supporters in both cities, they might end up splitting the anti-Conservative vote, allowing the Tories to win.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.83 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

In the last federal election, the Conservatives won 13 out of 14 Saskatchewan ridings. The 14th was won by Liberal Ralph Goodale.