Half of Canadians think it’s time for another party to govern, regardless of whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied with the Trudeau government, according to a survey released today by Leger.
The survey was conducted online from August 13, 2021, to August 15, 2021, with 2,007 Canadians and 1,005 Americans, 18 years of age or older, randomly recruited from Leger Opinion’s online panel.
The survey asked respondents if they “are very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied with the Canadian government led by Justin Trudeau.” 51% expressed dissatisfaction.
Respondents’ opinions on “which federal party leader would make the best Prime Minister of Canada” were recorded as 28% for Trudeau, 18% for Singh and 15% for O’Toole.
When asked which political party they would vote for if the election were held today, 29% said they would vote for Trudeau’s Liberals and 24% for O’Toole’s Conservatives.
Although the Liberals have a 5% lead over the Conservatives, economist and pollster Jean-Marc Léger says “victory is far from assured.” In an editorial accompanying the survey, Léger noted that the Liberals have many hurdles to overcome and “42% of voters can change their mind.”
Léger points to three hurdles that the governing Liberals will have to overcome in order to win the election – COVID-19, the economy and the environment.
With regards to COVID, the Leger poll shows that 24% of Canadians are worried about their safety when voting in the upcoming federal election due to the pandemic.
On the economy, the Trudeau government has created a historic deficit of over $350 billion with no plan to reduce spending or balance the books.
Perhaps the biggest uncertainty, as Léger points out, is the performance of Conservative leader Erin O’Toole. Léger says O’Toole “will be in the spotlight for 36 days and will have to convince Canadians that he is ready to govern.”
