NLers will vote in a scorching political climate, prof says — and they're paying attention to the chaos

A federal election could be called as early as Sunday, and a Newfoundland and Labrador political scientist says it comes at a time when the entire country is paying attention to politics like never before.

"A whole bunch of people who normally don't have been following politics," Amanda Bittner, a political scientist at Memorial University, told CBC News Thursday.

"A lot has happened in the last two months to shift Canadian attitudes about the parties, about the future of the country."

Bittner said Prime Minister Mark Carney's desire to call an election likely comes as the result of a Liberal surge in polling. 

CBC's Poll Tracker shows Carney with a slight lead over Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre — something she says seemed impossible under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"It makes sense, I think, if you're Carney… to say 'OK, well now is the time. We need to get this show on the road, we want to secure the future, and also we have a good shot right now,' which I don't think that they anticipated two months ago," she said.

Carney, who was sworn in last week, is expected to ask Governor General Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament and call a federal election on Sunday.

That would result in a snap election that could see voters cast their ballots on either April 28 or May 5, according to sources that spoke with Radio-Canada. 

The election call comes at a key time in Canada's political landscape, just months after Trudeau's resignation and a trade war with United States President Donald Trump.

Bittner said how those leaders choose to respond to the high political temperature will have an impact.

"There's a full alphabet of problems at the moment, and so my hope for the next four weeks is that we hear from parties and candidates with clear policy ideas. That they're not just spouting gimmicky phrases," she said.

"We actually have big problems that require real solutions. And so my hope is that we're going to hear from politicians who want to be elected on a platform with real content [and] with their real plan."

In particular, Bittner said she's curious as to how Poilievre's rhetoric will change as the election develops. Much of his platform centred around being opposed to Trudeau and the federal carbon tax, she said, which Carney announced he would remove effective April 1.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, only one of six Liberal MPs have chosen to seek re-election.