- Increase in satisfaction levels for both government and preference for Trudeau as PM
- Gap widens between Liberals and Conservatives as Grits make notable gains
HALIFAX, May 27, 2020: Satisfaction with the performance of the federal government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has climbed by 25 percentage points, according to the latest survey by Narrative Research. Seven in ten Atlantic Canadians express satisfaction with the performance of the federal government (71%, up from 46% in February 2020), and this level of satisfaction is generally consistent across all four provinces. This marks the highest overall regional satisfaction level with the federal government since November 2016 (73%), one year after Trudeau was first elected Prime Minister.
Among decided voters, support for the Liberals has risen significantly and is now at 60% (up from 41 in February). At the same time, support for the Conservative Party has dropped to 21% (down from 32% in February), while support for the NDP has also declined (10%, compared with 16% in February). The Green Party receives 7% of voting intentions (down from 11%), while the People’s Party of Canada stands at 1% (compared with 0% in February). In each of the Atlantic Provinces, more than one-half of decided voters express support for the Liberal Party (NB: 54%; PE: 56%; NS: 61% and NL: 67%).
One-quarter of Atlantic Canadian voters are undecided (26%), 5% refuse to state which party they support, and 3% do not plan to vote in the next federal election.
In terms of leadership preference, one-half of Atlantic Canadians express a preference for Justin Trudeau, a significant jump from the previous quarter (49%, up from 33% in February). Andrew Scheer receives 13% of mentions (compared with 15% in February), while Jagmeet Singh is close behind Scheer (11%, down from 17% in February). Jo-Ann Roberts receives 5% of preferences (down from 8% in February), while Maxime Bernier holds steady at 2%, unchanged since the previous quarter. Yves-François Blanchet was mentioned by 1% (compared with 0% in February). Ten percent of Atlantic Canadians do not have a leadership preference (9%), and 5% say they prefer none of the main party leaders.
“This strong level of support for Prime Minister Trudeau and his government reflects the high level of confidence the public has expressed with his leadership throughout the pandemic,” said Margaret Brigley, CEO of Narrative Research. “Within Atlantic Canada, it is clearly evident that during a crisis of this magnitude, a governing party – be it provincial or federal – is in a position of strength. It’s not surprising that government support has escalated during a time of crisis given increased profile through regular, often daily, public briefings. At this time, that confidence has translated into increased voter intentions for the federal Liberal Party.”
These results are part of Narrative Research’s Atlantic Quarterly®, an independent telephone survey of Atlantic Canadians, and are based on a sample of 1500 adult Atlantic Canadians, conducted from April 29-May 17, 2020, with overall results accurate to within ± 2.5 percentage points, 95 out of 100 times.
Narrative Research www.narrativeresearch.ca, is non-partisan and is one of Canada’s leading public opinion and market research companies. Founded in 1978 as Corporate Research Associates, Narrative Research is dedicated to providing clients with state-of-the-art research and strategic consulting services. Follow us on Twitter @EveryNarrative.
For more information, please contact:
Margaret Brigley, CEO, Narrative Research at 902.222.7066, mbrigley@narrativeresearch.ca
