The latest iPolitics/EKOS poll suggests the Conservative vote could be solidifying, but numbers on party positioning over deficit spending suggest the Liberals have situated themselves well to potentially nab votes from other parties.

The new numbers show that, by and large, the biggest swaths of both Liberal and NDP voters, at 76 and 72 per cent respectively, are in favour of modest deficits for things like infrastructure spending.

Meanwhile, over half of Conservative supporters are mostly pro-balanced budget – but then nearly 40 per cent are OK with modest deficits.

Most voters — 58 per cent — are alright with modest deficit spending, suggesting the campaign debate on deficits may help the Liberals to poach NDP supporters and red Tories based on Justin Trudeau’s promise to focus on economic growth rather than balancing the budget.

Roughly 30 per cent of NDP and Liberal supporters each said they were somewhat likely to change their mind between now and the election.

Attention in the campaign shifted to a debate on the importance of a balanced budget when the Liberals put out their infrastructure spending plan, saying the budget will return to balance in 2019 and the NDP contrasted with a promise of balancing the budget in the first year of office.

The NDP released its own infrastructure plan today, with several billion in spending on transit and direct transfers to municipalities. A release quoted Thomas Mulcair saying: “Unlike Justin Trudeau’s reckless promise of years of deficits, the NDP’s commitment increases investment sustainable each year to grow the economy while balancing the budget.”

Aaron Wudrick, national director of the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation, notes that party messaging on all fronts seems to have shifted positions from what they’re all known for.

The Conservatives, best known for championing balanced budgets, “ran seven deficits and racked up a lot of debt,” while the Liberals “excoriated them on deficits and now are preaching the virtue of deficits,” and the NDP, well known for positive views on social spending, is now “preaching balanced budgets.”

“If I’m a voter concerned about this, it’s a little bit confusing because of the mixed-messaging.”

He also noted how deceptive the term ‘modest’ can be with messaging on deficits, and how easily they can spiral out of control despite what parties promise.

“If [modest deficits] were the historical track record, we might not think it’s as big a deal either.”

Dennis Howlett, Executive Director of Canadians for Tax Fairness, says it suggests most Canadians aren’t “spooked” by deficits anymore.

“I think many Canadians have finally come to understand that small deficits don’t matter that much. But this does not mean people have abandoned the view that governments should manage their finances. The debt-to-GDP ratio does matter and if interest rates were to go up, a large accumulated debt could seriously squeeze out important program spending.”

“Deficit financing is not sustainable over the long term, so the Liberal’s plan is a half measure. If they don’t also adopt fair tax policies to increase revenue, they won’t be able to go very far.”

The EKOS poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 per cent, 19 times out of 20.