Undecided voters weigh choices on Quebec election eve

Voters in Quebec will select the province's government on Tuesday, but according to recent polls, many people still haven't made up their minds.

Two polls published on the weekend showed high levels of undecided voters with just days left of the campaign.

Lger Marketing's vice-president of research Christian Bourque said the last time there were so many undecided voters was in 2007, when the Action Dmocratique du Qubec captured 41 seats in Quebec's national assembly, and with them the title of Official Opposition. Prior to that election, the right-of centre party had heldfive seats.

"Will something like that happen to the [CAQ]? It's a possibility," said Bourque.

Bourque said some of the undecided voters haven't been following the campaign and others don't know if they should vote strategically.

Karim Amal, a resident of Montreal's St-Leonard neighbourhood, originally thought he might support the Coalition Avenir Qubec candidate, but he has since changed his mind.

He voted for the Parti Qubcois in 2008, and even though he says the party's talk about sovereignty and referendums is turning him off, he may vote for them in the end.

He said the other parties lack inspiration.

"They don't seem to have new ideas. It's always the same thing. It makes me almost want to cancel my vote. But I have to make a choice ," said Amal.

Uncertainty abounds for undecided voters

According to a survey from CROP, commissioned by La Presse, 12 per cent of voters remain undecided. The poll surveyed 1,002 people betweenAug. 27 to 29. and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

A Lger Marketing poll released on Sunday showed that 28 per cent of respondents said they may change their minds when they enter the polling station.

Respondents in that survey, commissioned for QMI, revealed that CAQsupporters are the least likely to commit, with 37 per cent saying they could still change their minds. Compare that to 27 per cent of Liberal supporters and 15 per cent ofPQ supporters.

The Lger Marketing poll surveyed 1,856 respondents, randomly selected from a pool of 185,000 Internet users between Aug. 29 to 31. The margin of error is 2.3 percentage points.