OPPOSITES ATTRACT — NDP voters don’t typically consider bankers friends or allies. But a new survey from the Angus Reid Institute shows Liberal leadership candidate MARK CARNEY feasting on the NDP vote.
— Isn’t that ironic? The former Bank of Canada governor shaves off points from the NDP — and not one or two. Here’s what federal voting intentions look like with Carney or CHRYSTIA FREELAND as Liberal leader: → Carney: NDP 13 percent, LPC 29, CPC 43. → Freeland: NDP 17 percent, LPC 24, CPC 44. “It’s catastrophic news for [NDP Leader] JAGMEET SINGH because most of that vote is pulled from NDP support, not Conservative support,” said Angus Reid President SHACHI KURL. ARI's numbers are just the latest bad news for a Singh-led NDP that has failed to gain much momentum since they inked a now-defunct governing deal with the Liberals. “We’re seeing that left-of-center vote — somewhat ironically given that we’ve got a former banker who actually wants to tighten things up fiscally — rallying around Carney as an alternative to [Conservative Leader] PIERRE POILIEVRE.” — Huge caveats: The Liberal leadership race is in its early stages. An election is weeks or even months away. Anything can happen. This is just a single poll. — Glass half-full: The survey has good news for Conservatives, who still lead comfortably by double digits, and Liberals, who appear poised to rebound. Not so much for the NDP, which "doesn’t really have a glass-half-full scenario,” said Kurl. “It is a white-knuckle moment for them.” — Crickets: An NDP spokesperson said they would not comment on a poll. — Holding onto party status: New Democrats risk losing official party status in the House if Liberals rebound and appeal to Liberal-NDP switchers, said 338Canada's PHILIPPE J. FOURNIER. “Right now my projection for the NDP has them at around 20 seats, give or take a few,” Fournier told Playbook. “It could get cut in half if those numbers for the Liberals improve.” — Official party status: 12 seats. “I think that would become their new benchmark,” Fournier said. “They don’t want to go under this.” Losing official party status in the House of Commons means losing money for staff and research, seats on committees and the right to ask questions during question period. — Liberals enter the chat: With the NDP showing no signs of political gains, Liberals have swooped in. On Thursday, they released a new video featuring Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU. “When we renegotiated our free trade agreement with the U.S., unions were right there with us. They made sure it was a good deal for workers,” he said. “Now we’re fighting to protect it — and unions are right there with us again.” — Have your cake and eat it: CP’s KYLE DUGGAN reports that Singh is doubling down on his promise to topple the government, even as he calls on the Liberals to recall Parliament early to work on tariff-relief legislation. Having trouble keeping up? You are “not alone,” said former NDP national director KARL BÉLANGER. | 
