Latest poll puts NDP and Sask. Party in dead heat for Saskatoon Meewasin byelection

A new poll shows the Saskatchewan Party's Brent Penner has edged aheadin the race for the seat of Saskatoon Meewasin, putting him in a dead heat with the NDP's Ryan Meili.

The Mainstreet Research Poll, conducted for Postmediaon Thursday and released Saturday, predicts a fight to the finish for the two opposing candidates vying for the Saskatoon riding.

• NDP takes early lead in Saskatoon byelection race: poll
• New MLA to be elected in Saskatoon Meewasin on March 2

The poll results found Penner with 45 per cent of the vote and Meili with 44, among decided or leaning voters. A random sample of this size would yield a margin of error of plus or minus 4.71 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

These latest numbers putan end to an early lead in the polls for the NDP.

Mainstreet Research executive vice-president David Valentin said in a release thatit was a significant turnaround for the Saskatchewan Party candidate.

"In our last poll, we pointed out the low results for the Saskatchewan Party were underpinned by low support among younger voters who were registering high undecided rates," he said.

"It looks like those voters have made up their minds and decided to stick with the government they know."

Valentin added that there had been movement in the favourability ratings for Ryan Meili and Brent Penner, with the latter increasing eight percentage points. Meili's favourability fell slightly, according to the poll.

The pair will face off in a live debate on CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning at 7:12 a.m. CST on Monday, Feb. 27.

Less than a week until byelection

The byelection, triggered by the death of Saskatchewan Party MLA Roger Parent in November, is slated for March 2.

In addition to Meili and Penner,three other candidates are vying for the Saskatoon Meewasin seat: Shawn Setyo of the Green Party of Saskatchewan, Darrin Lamoureuxof the Saskatchewan Liberal Party and DavidProkopchuk of theProgressive Conservative Party. Setyo and Lamoureux are the leaders of their respective parties.

The poll puts the Liberal Party with five per cent of the vote, and the Green Party with six. The Progressive Conservatives currently have zero per cent of the vote, according to the results.

It also notes that byelections are notoriously hard to predict because voter turnout is unstable.

Monday's CBC Radio debate between Brent Penner and Ryan Meiliwill be livestreamedat CBC Saskatoon's Facebook page starting at 7:12 a.m.

To help Saskatoon residents decide on voting day, CBC News publishedresponses from the five candidates on a different issue every day this week.

• Part 1: Candidates weigh in on racism in Sask.
• Part 2: Candidates talk federal carbon tax
• Part 3: Candidates on regulating legalized marijuana
• Part 4:Candidates on First Nations revenue sharing
• Part 5: Coming Saturday