Photo: Castanet

Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Frank Caputo

Conservative MP Frank Caputo thinks a federal election could be called as early as this weekend — and he's already been out knocking on Kamloops doors to drum up support.

The soon-to-be incumbent candidate for Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola is not commenting on new polling showing Pierre Poilievre and the Tories' significant lead in the polls has evaporated in recent weeks.

“With respect to the polling numbers, frankly, I don't think it's the job of a person in my position to analyze or dissect all these things,” Caputo said, adding he “could see polling numbers that say any number of things.”

According to 338Canada, an independently owned media website weighing political polling data, as of Tuesday the Liberals and Conservatives would receive about 38 per cent of the popular vote if an election were held now, and the Liberals could form a 177-seat majority government.

At the time of Trudeau’s resignation, 338Canada had the Conservatives with 45 per cent of the popular vote — a 25-per-cent lead over the Liberals. In just a few weeks, during which time Trudeau stepped down and U.S. President Donald Trump put Canada's economy in his crosshairs, the polling data shows the Liberals shooting back up to even.

Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister on March 14 after being chosen the new Liberal Party leader. An election is expected to be called before Monday, the date Parliament is set to resume.

Opposition parties say they will vote non-confidence to force an election if Parliament returns, or Carney could call a snap election himself.

Many on the fence?

Caputo said he predicts the election will be called this weekend, triggering a vote in late April or early May.

He said he has already started door-knocking efforts to reach out to prospective voters, and noted he’s found many are undecided — which he sees as an opportunity.

“My sense is that a number of people do want change,” Caputo said.

“A number of people haven't really thought about the election, which is something that you actually hear quite a bit — it's something I heard last time, too, even into the writ period.”

The Liberals’ surge has come since the resignation of Trudeau, who had a popularity rating of 22 per cent in December according to the Angus Reid Institute, and amid a political climate dominated by Trump’s talk of tariffs and threats to Canadian sovereignty.

Caputo said he feels the Conservatives have solid plans to build homes, combat tariffs and lower taxes for voters to consider, and accused Carney, the former head of the Bank of Canada, of stealing from the Tory playbook.

“A lot of what the Liberals have done, what Carney has done, essentially just stolen ideas from from Pierre Poilievre,” Caputo said.

Caputo is so far the only confirmed candidate in the Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola riding. Fellow Conservative MP Mel Arnold will be seeking re-election in the newly drawn Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies riding, which also includes Valleyview, Dallas, Barnhartvale and part of downtown Kamloops.