4 in 10 Canadians say Pierre Poilievre is best choice for prime minister, poll finds – National

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s trend continues to rise, with 40 per cent of Canadians saying he is the best choice to become prime minister, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for PKBNEWS.

Poilievre’s favorable views on this issue are up five points from a year ago. The number of respondents who think Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the best choice remains stable year over year at 31 percent.

Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos, said the gap shows the Conservatives could form a majority government if an election were held today.

“When you look at why Canadians feel the way they do right now, [there’s] real dissatisfaction with the direction of the country. Especially when it comes to big issues on their personal agenda,” Bricker said, citing the cost of living, access to housing and inflation.

“So this is a real set of economic concerns.”

The number of respondents who think NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is the best choice to become prime minister has fallen four points since September 2022, with 22% of respondents saying he is the best choice to lead the government .

On the top issues facing Canada in the economy, health care and housing, the poll found that a plurality of Canadians think Poilievre has the best plans in all three areas.

Regionally, Poilievre’s favorites top the list in every province and region except Quebec. The territories were not included in this survey.

The poll shows Poilievre became Ontario’s preferred prime minister with 42 percent, compared to Trudeau’s 38 percent.

As for cities, Bricker says the suburbs will be the battleground in the next election.

“Inner cities, no, are more of a dead zone for the Conservative Party in most parts of the country,” Bricker said.

“But the suburbs are competitive. Particularly in the drive-through suburbs around the city of Toronto and other major cities where we’ve seen the greatest population growth and in areas of the country that are seeing more in more seats as we progress. through redistribution.

Although the Conservatives could potentially form a majority government with that kind of popularity, Bricker said the tighter support levels in Ontario likely mean it would be a government with a narrow margin.

In Atlantic Canada, Poilievre currently enjoys a 20-point lead over Trudeau, with 48 percent of respondents saying Poilievre would make the best prime minister.

The Liberals swept Atlantic ridings before forming a majority government in the 2015 election.

In Quebec, the only province that considers Trudeau the best choice to become prime minister, he enjoys 34 percent support to Poilievre’s 23 percent.

Trudeau has maintained that he is considering leading the Liberal Party in the next election, but a majority of those surveyed don’t think it’s a good idea.

The Ipsos results suggest that 60 percent of Canadians think it is time for Trudeau to step aside as leader and let someone else lead the Liberals in the next election. This is up from 54 percent in a December 2022 poll.

Currently, the minority Liberals have concluded a subsidies and confidence agreement with the NDP. This party has agreed to support the government on questions of confidence until the next elections scheduled for fall 2025.

In exchange, the Liberals agreed to advance key NDP priorities, such as dental care and pharmacare, with legislation expected on the latter by the end of the year.

However, 53 percent of respondents believe it is time for the NDP to stop supporting the Liberals and call an election. Others believe that the NDP should continue to support the government and not force an election.

This survey was carried out between September 15 and 18 with 1,500 respondents. Ipsos used demographic data to establish quotas to ensure the sample group was representative of the Canadian population.

This poll is considered accurate with a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percent, 19 times out of 20.

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