OTTAWA — The gap has closed.
New polling released by Leger this week suggests the Liberals and Conservatives are in a dead heat, with respondents granting both parties 37% support.
The comfortable lead once enjoyed by the Conservatives has all but evaporated, decreasing by six points compared to last week, while the Liberals clawed back 7% support.
“This remains a highly volatile public opinion environment,” the poll stated.
The federal NDP garnered 11% support; the Bloc, 6%; the Green Party, 5%; and the People’s Party of Canada, 2%.
The poll also found 5% of respondents said they’d refuse to vote in the upcoming election.
But while the gap between the parties shrinks, Canadians seem eager for change: 53% indicated they wanted a change of government in the next election, while 29% want the current team to remain in place; and 17% said they didn’t know.
That hunger for change is rooted in western Canada, with respondents in Alberta (63%,) BC (58%) and Manitoba/Saskatchewan (58%) more likely to want a change in government.
Unsurprisingly, most who want a different government are Conservative supporters — with 93% of declared Tory voters saying they favour change.
That sentiment was only shared by 17% of Liberal voters, while 67% of NDP voters say they’re ready for a different government.
Canadians can still agree on their loathing of the Trudeau Liberals, with 57% of respondents saying they’re dissatisfied with the job done by Justin Trudeau’s government, while only 37% were satisfied.
Satisfaction with the Trudeau Liberals was highest in Atlantic Canada and Quebec, as well as among urban voters, while Alberta and rural voters remain the most dissatisfied with Trudeau.
The poll also found:
— 71% of declared Liberal voters want the current team to form the next government — while only 5% of Tory voters and 19% of NDP supporters felt the same way.
— 33% of respondents want a spring election, while 31% are looking for the government to last until the mandated Oct. 20, 2025 deadline.
— Tory voters tended to prefer an election sooner rather than later, while Liberal and NDP supporters want the Trudeau/Carney Liberals to run out the clock until October.
Conducted March 7-10, the poll relied on responses from 1,548 adult Canadians via Leger’s online panel. As margins of error cannot be applied to online panels, an equivalent probability sample would yield a margin of error of about 2.5%.
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