We’ve reached the final days of the federal election campaign and Alberta appears to be getting more love than usual. And while the hope might be that federal politicians are starting to hear the drumbeat of western demands, the more likely scenario is that the electoral race in the province is as close as it’s been in some time. If you’ve been paying attention to polls during the campaign (and let’s face it, who hasn’t), you’ve seen a Liberal surge by Mark Carney, which wiped out what seemed like an insurmountable advantage for the Conservatives and Pierre Poilievre. So while a true love affair with Alberta might not be what is really transpiring, the leaders of Canada’s three major political parties are all spending time here in the last week of the campaign – a rarity – each hoping to either shore up support, regain support or dig the knife just a little deeper. Alberta is as true blue as it comes, reliably voting conservative outside of a handful of urban ridings in Edmonton and Calgary usually. There are 37 seats at stake in Monday’s election, up from 34 the last go-around. The Conservatives won all but four in 2021 and are expected to dominate once again. But this year is different. While Poilievre and his party will certainly win the vast majority of seats, there is hope in the eyes of the Liberals and NDP, and sensing a chink in the armour, valuable time and money is being spent here. On Wednesday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was in Edmonton, where he said his Parliamentarians go to Ottawa to “get stuff done.” “We’re not there to just make noise in a corner like the Conservatives,” he said. The NDP won two Alberta seats in the 2021 election. While the riding of Edmonton Strathcona will likely stay orange, as it has since 2008, the race is tighter in Edmonton Griesbach, which voted NDP in 2021. As The Globe’s Carrie Tait reported this week from Red Deer, there are mixed feelings even in a city where a Conservative victory is all but assured. Carrie met Ron Bamber, who said he usually leans Conservative, but this time he’s leaning toward the Liberals. He does not fully trust Carney, but figures the former central banker has the best shot at managing U.S. President Donald Trump. She also spoke with Gage Sebryk, 18, who will vote in his first federal election on Monday. Like so many others in the province, voting Conservative was almost a birthright, having heard support for little else at the dinner table growing up. “If the Liberal government makes it in again, it won’t be good,” Sebryk said. One thing most people said this week is that if a Liberal victory actually does transpire, the vocal minority of secessionists in Alberta will get louder. While Alberta Premier Danielle Smith hasn’t done much to tamp down the glowing embers of separatism, even with 30 per cent in support according to some polls, it could grow. “It is people being angry. But it might be too much angry,” Bamber said. This is the weekly Alberta newsletter written by Alberta Bureau Chief Mark Iype. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.