Polls point to more Alberta oil patch pain

Parties less favourable to Canada's oil industry make gains

Beleaguered western Canadian oil and gas firms face reducing prospects of any relief after the upcoming federal election, to be held no later than October 21, according to the most recent opinion polls. The pro-business Conservative Party was verging on majority territory earlier this year. But incumbent prime minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party—blamed by many for what ails the West's oil patch, especially the lack of pipeline capacity exiting the region—are now running close to neck and neck with the Conservatives in the polls. Another majority Liberal government is likely a stretch come October, with Trudeau's approval rating collapsing to the low thirties over the past four year