New Brunswick historian and political scientist Patrick Webber who has an abiding interest in the smaller/newer parties of Atlantic Canada (he has an article in the current issue of ACADIENSIS) has done a riding by riding study of the advance polls results a week before the June 2009 election in NS.
He finds, overall, that the Libs bled 10% of their support to NDP between then and election day, while Green vote went UP not down - a total surprise, as tiny parties traditionally lose half their support as polling day approaches.
Looking at it on a riding by riding basis, he found the Liberal loss of support to the NDP, in that last week, moved a few seats to NDP from PCs, so ironically the Liberals got what they felt they badly needed - to come out slightly ahead of PCs to become the Official Opposition.
But being the Third Party in the House never hurt John Hamm in 1999 though....
