A poll by Abacus Data which surveyed 3,000 voters found that a majority of Canadians wanted a change in their federal government.
The national survey took place between August 6 and August 11, just ahead of an expected election call by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speculated to take place this upcoming weekend.
Abacus Data is a Canadian polling firm based out of Ottawa, Ontario, which regularly gets cited by legacy media outlets like the Globe and Mail, National Post and others.
According to the poll results, 66% of people surveyed said that it was either definitely time for change or a good time to have a change in government. On the other hand, only 33% of Canadians stated that they wished to see the Liberals re-elected.
Despite the desire for change, the Trudeau Liberals continue to score first place in the polls, followed by O’Toole’s Conservatives.
Abacus Data found that 37% of Canadians intend to vote for the Liberals, while 28% said they will be casting their ballot for a Conservative candidate. Meanwhile, the NDP trails behind at 20%, followed by the Green Party which sits at 5%.
Support for the Liberals is highest in Ontario and the Atlantic Provinces, while the Conservatives outpoll the Liberals in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Past analysis of Abacus Data polling has shown that the pollster has skewed lower for Conservatives than the average of Canada’s polls.
Other recent polls by Angus Reid show a much more narrow lead by the Liberals. A poll published on Thursday by Angus Reid found that the Liberals only had a 5-point lead over the Conservatives, in comparison to the 9-point lead reported by Abacus Data.
Additionally, a recent Angus Reid poll found that O’Toole was leading on economic issues like government spending, economic recovery and energy over other leaders, whereas Trudeau only led on COVID-19 handling.
