Many Canadians appear to be leaving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau behind ahead of the new year, after a new poll suggests support for the Liberal government is at an all-time low.
The latest public opinion data from independent research organization Angus Reid Institute yielded staggering results, demonstrating a major decrease in Liberal leaning voters. The online survey was conducted between Dec. 27 to 30, 2024 and sampled more than 2,200 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum.
Support for the party has dwindled to just 16 per cent, representing the lowest level of vote intention for the Liberal government in Angus Reid Institute tracking since 2014.
The results are the latest blow in the past few weeks for Trudeau who has been side-eyed by the public for his after-hours private meeting with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, the shocking resignation of finance minister Chrystia Freeland, and a growing number of Liberal MPs who are now publicly calling for him to go.
Read More
Along with his own caucus, nearly half (46 per cent) of Canadians and three-in-five (59 per cent) current Liberal supporters say it’s time for him to step aside. Another two-in-five (38 per cent) Canadians believe Trudeau should call for a general election himself when he returns from his holiday break once Parliament resumes on Jan. 27, the polls read.
Trudeau’s popularity has also massively declined amongst those who voted for him in 2021, according to Angus Reid. Fifty-one per cent of Liberal voters in the last federal election say they disapprove of Trudeau’s performance as prime minister.
FAVOURABILITY OF OTHER CANADIAN LEADERS
While impressions of Trudeau have grown negative over time, there has not been much increase in positivity towards rival Conservative (CPC) leader Pierre Poilievre. In assessments from Angus Reid Institute’s earlier polling data from this month, 37 per cent of Canadians said they had a favourable view of Poilievre. The number now stands at 38 per cent – or statistically unchanged.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s trajectory of public opinion has been on a steady decline since the 2021 election, the data says, and three-in-five (58%) Canadians say they have an unfavourable view of the NDP leader.
If an election were held today, Angus Reid reports that 45 per cent of voters say they would support the Conservatives, 21 per cent the NDP and 16 per cent the Liberals.
FUTURE OF THE LIBERAL PARTY LEFT UNKNOWN
With support decreasing amongst previous Liberal party voters, the polling says that most of those voters now say they would not repeat their vote, with 12 per cent of 2021 Liberal voters either undecided or not planning to vote, and 16 and 20 per cent currently supporting the CPC and NDP, respectively.
Meanwhile, nearly all (89 per cent) of 2021 CPC voters plan to support the party again, while seven-in-ten (68 per cent) of those who voted NDP and 83 per cent of those who voted Bloc Quebecois continue to support the party they voted for in the last federal election in 2021.
The sitting prime minister is facing a number of challenges ahead of him as tensions rise about his future in office. Opposing government leaders have said they will move a motion of non-confidence in the federal Liberal government as early as Jan. 30, which would bring an election if passed.
Two-in-five Canadians (38 per cent) believe that Trudeau himself should call an election in the new year, while more than half (59 per cent) of those who currently support the Liberals say the party should elect a new leader.
Angus Reid’s poll has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
