Federal Politics: Trudeau still seen as best PM, but Conservatives 'best to form government'

Almost half (45%) say it's 'time for a change in government'--highest mark since Liberals took office

, --October 2, 2017

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It was a turbulent summer for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government, which has faced criticism for its handling of the surge in irregular border-crossings in Quebec, the decision to pay Omar Khadr more than $10 million to settle his lawsuit against the government, and its proposed changes to small business taxation.
As this last critique of the Liberal government continues into fall, a new analysis of quarterly polling data--fielded by MARU/Matchbox and donated to the Angus Reid Institute--finds evidence that Canadian public opinion is changing with the autumn leaves. While Trudeau retains the approval of half of Canadians, more respondents disapprove of his performance "strongly" (27%) than approve strongly (14%). And, though Trudeau's overall approval rating remains significantly higher than that of Conservative Opposition leader Andrew Scheer, enthusiasm for Trudeau's party lags behind support for its leader. For the second consecutive quarter, more Canadians say it is "time for a change" in government than say it is not, and more now choose the Conservatives as the best party to lead in Ottawa than Trudeau's Liberals.

More Key Findings:

  • More Canadians say Trudeau would make the best Prime Minister than Scheer (33% versus 18%), but slightly more say Scheer's Conservatives than Trudeau's Liberals would make the best government (36% versus 33%)
  • Scheer is seen as the federal party leader best suited to deal with economic issues (29% versus 24% who choose Trudeau)
  • "The economy" remains a top issue for one-in-five Canadians (22%), even as Canada's economic outlook is rated best in the G7, and Canadians express more pessimism than optimism when it comes to their personal standard of living in the coming year
Index:
  • Part 1--Time for a change? More say yes than no
  • Part 2--Trudeau seen as best PM, but losing ground on economic leadership
  • Part 3--As economy booms, worries remain at household level
Link to the poll here: www.angusreid.org/federal-issues-sept-2017 Download .PDF (1 MB) with detailed tables, graphs and methodology.

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Angus Reid Institute——

The Angus Reid Institute is a national, not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation established to enhance and encourage better understanding of issues and trends affecting economic, social, governance, philanthropy, public administration, domestic and foreign policy in Canada and its world.