A new poll released by Leger ahead of Thursday’s English language Federal Leaders’ Debate found that Canadians believed Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau to be the most out of touch with the everyday realities they are dealing with.
The online survey which was commissioned by Postmedia, polled 3,002 Canadian residents over the age of 18 between September 3, 2021 to September 6, 2021. A similar poll using a random sample would have a margin of error of ±1.8%, 19 times out of 20.
When survey respondents were asked to rate the most disappointing characteristics of each federal leader, Trudeau was found to be the least understanding of Canadians’ struggles.
In the poll, 24% of people said that the Liberal leader lacked an “understanding of what ordinary Canadians are dealing with.” Meanwhile, only 16% said the same of Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole, whereas NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh scored 10% in this category and Bloc Quebecois Leader Francois Yves-Blanchet received 9%.
Additionally, when asked whether Trudeau was “out of touch” with voters’ concerns, 30% of Canadians responded in the affirmative. On this question, O’Toole scored 15%, Singh received 8% and Yves-Blanchet received 7%.
“If you think back to 2015, he really connected. That was one of the things people talked a lot about, is that he really connected with the average Canadian on those major issues,” Leger’s Executive Director Andrew Enns told Postmedia.
“This is a bit of a flag as to why that Liberal campaign is really not taking off to the degree that perhaps they thought it might.”
According to the latest poll on voter intentions, the Conservatives have a slight lead over the Liberals. A recent Nanos poll revealed that 32.6% of Canadians said that they would cast their ballot for a Conservative candidate if an election were held today.
Meanwhile, only 30.6% of Canadians said they would be voting for a Liberal candidate in their riding.
