Albertans disapprove of Event Centre deal: poll

Albertans are divided, or rather, “slightly negative” on the provincial funding of the new Event Centre deal in Calgary, a new poll says.

The ThinkHQ Provincial Affairs provincial survey shows that around 12 per cent of voters in Alberta have not even heard anything about the deal, while nearly two-thirds, or about 64 per cent, are “definitely aware” of the issue.

About 50 per cent of those interviewed disapproved of the deal, with 32 per cent strongly disapproving, compared to 43 per cent who are in favour of the deal, with 14 per cent strongly approving.

The poll says seven per cent remain unsure.

ThinkHQ says most “political watchers” agree the announcement was meant to woo Calgary voters just days before the start of the election.

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Watch: Albertans don’t love Calgary arena deal: poll

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Calgary’s sentiment is flipped compared to the rest of the province, with 50 per cent approving of the deal, and around 45 per cent disapproving, along with five per cent saying they are “unsure.”

Approval for the deal tends to increase with age and income, along with being lower for women and those with a university education.

“The results on this aren’t especially surprising. We’ve tracked public sentiment on every proposed Event Centre deal that’s come forward in the past decade, and they always seem to divide Calgarians in half. Not shocking,” said ThnkHQ public affairs president Marc Henry.

“It’s also not shocking that Edmontonians don’t like the deal, given the historical rivalry between the two cities and the lack of provincial support for Rogers Place.”

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He says the issue isn’t going to win a lot of votes in Calgary for the United Conservative Party, adding it may “cost the votes” in ridings surrounding Edmonton.

Henry also says that the deal could cost the New Democrats the election if it is mishandled somehow.

“For the NDP to win the election, they must capture the lion’s share of Calgary seats. And as the polls sit today, many of those constituencies will be determined by very thin margins — a couple of points either way could mean the difference between the winning and losing parties,” he said.

“Killing a deal popular with one-half of Calgarians is the kind of thing that could tip the balance in several of these ‘toss up’ ridings. For the NDP, that’s the difference between having a chance at forming government and not.”

More information on the results of the poll can be found online.