More Canadians said they believed Conservative Leader Pierre Pollievre would better handle another Donald Trump U.S. presidency when compared to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a recent poll.
In a national survey conducted by Abacus Data for the Toronto Star, 37% of respondents said that Polievere would be better equipped to deal with Trump over Trudeau, should he win the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Less respondents, 28%, said they believed Trudeau would do a better job, while 31% said they didn’t know.
“Except for climate change (and child care), I would say there isn’t an issue probably right now in which people are feeling the prime minister would handle it better than the Conservative leader,” said Abacus CEO David Coletto.
Trudeau’s diplomatic fallout with India over Sikh murders and the Nazi scandal in the House of Commons have posed several problems for the Liberal government’s image.
This has led many to question Trudeau’s capabilities as a global leader, despite the fact that people previously believed he handled Trump’s presidency effectively.
Coletto claimed that Liberals who feel another Trump victory would bode well for a Liberal re-election are incorrect.
According to Coletto, the perception is that Poilievre shares similar conservative views to Trump, which is likely to make for better diplomacy, who likened the relationship to how Trudeau fared better with former U.S. President Barack Obama than his predecessor prime minister Stephen Harper.
The survey was conducted between Sept. 28 and Oct. 5 with a margin of error above or below 2.2%. There were a total of 1,985 people who responded.
Respondents were also asked who they would vote for if an election were held tomorrow.
The majority said they would vote Conservative at 39%, while only 26% said they would vote Liberal.
“The overriding desire for change is really helping Poilievre and making it a really difficult environment for the prime minister,” said Coletto.
Trudeau addressed his relationship with the former U.S. president while speaking with community leaders about the wildfires in Hay River, N.W.T. on Wednesday.
“There’s ways to handle him,” said Trudeau, who likened him to a “controlled burn.”
Trump is favoured to win the Republican nomination and is in a competitive position to beat President Joe Biden in 2024 according to recent polling.
Coletto said that while a Trump presidency is not imminent, “it does suggest that the Liberals can’t just count on that happening, if they think that’s going to be the solution to their problems.”
“The government’s been trying to spend more time focused on housing and affordability — they know what the top issues they need to be addressing are,” said Coletto. “It remains to be seen whether they can convince people that they can do it.”
