Canada's 2021 Federal Election: A Study on Voting Intentions Throughout the Election

The 2021 Federal Election in Canada was a fascinating time for those in Canada. throughout the entirety of the election, media and news outlets found it difficult to predict a winner until the very end of election night on September 20 , 2021. This difficulty stems from constant shifts in both Justin Trudeau's and Erin O'Toole's voter favourability and preference. The paper, through the use of extended literature reviews and analysis, looks to provide some reasoning behind why voting intentions shifted immensely throughout the election. This paper focuses on three key factors starting with political factors. This area studied both the Liberal and Conservative platforms in relation to Canadians' top five issues for the 2021 election. After these two areas were analyzed, the focus shifted to issue ownership and whom Canadians believed had the best policies concerning their leading issues. The second factor studied was societal factors. This area selected five major events occurring in Canada before and during the 2021 Federal Election. These five areas were then studied to see how they may have affected voters' intentions. The third and final factor studied was communicative factors. This area was pinned down to one specific event, the 2021 Federal Leaders Debate on September 9 . th Following the conclusion of this event, Erin O'Toole immediately witnessed a fall in the polls, moving him out of the lead just ten days before election day. Both the non-verbal and verbal communication was studied. Through these three factors, this paper was able to produce one final prediction about why voting intentions shifted so drastically throughout the 2021 Federal Election.