Half of Canadians support the removal of O’Toole as federal Conservative Party leader

  • Nearly half of Canadians agree that the Conservative Party of Canada did the right thing removing Erin O’Toole as leader, while over one-third express uncertainty on the topic.

February 23, 2022

Earlier this month, former Conservative Party of Canada leader, Erin O’Toole, was removed as Party leader by his peers.  Since his removal, party members and Canadians alike have been divided based on whether or not they agree with this decision. When Canadians were asked about their opinion on the subject, nearly one-half (47%) noted that the Conservative Party did the right thing by removing Erin O’Toole as leader, while one in six (16%) indicated that he should have been permitted to lead the Party into the next federal election. The remaining one-third (36%) of Canadians are unsure of their opinion on the subject.

Across provinces, Atlantic Canadians are less likely than those from other provinces to think O’Toole should have been allowed to remain as Conservative Party leader, (11%), and are more likely to express uncertainty on the topic (44%). Meanwhile, men are notably more likely than women believe that O’Toole should have been permitted to continue to lead (22% versus 11%), and markedly less likely to say they are unsure of their opinion (31% versus 41%).  

Opinions on this topic also vary by age and household income. Agreement that the Conservative Party did the right thing by removing O’Toole increases with age, while the likelihood of having no opinion decreases with age. Additionally, the proportion of those who believe O’Toole should have been allowed to continue to lead increases with household income, meanwhile, uncertainty on the topic decreases with increasing household income.  


Results shown are from a survey conducted online between February 11 and 13, 2022, with 1,232 Canadians 18 years of age or older from the Logit Group’s Canadian Omnibus. Fielding every month, the Logit Group’s COVID-19 Omnibus surveys Canadians to ask their opinions and behaviours related to topical issues. Results were analyzed by Narrative Research. Data was weighted based on the 2016 Census, by gender, age, and region to reflect these population characteristics in each province. As a non-probability sample (i.e., a panel sample where residents have joined a panel to share their opinions), and in accordance with CRIC Public Opinion Research Standards, a margin of error is not applied.   

The question included in this press release was the following:

Which one of the following two statements comes closer to your own thinking?

  • The Conservative Party of Canada did the right thing to remove Erin O’Toole as leader
  • Erin O’Toole should have been permitted to lead the Conservative Party into the next federal election
  • Not sure

For more information, contact:

Margaret Brigley, CEO, Narrative Research – 902.222.7066, mbrigley@narrativeresearch.ca

OR

Sam Pisani, Managing Partner, Logit Group – 416.629.4116, sam.pisani@logitgroup.com

Narrative Research (www.narrativeresearch.ca), is a leading public opinion and market research company headquartered in Canada. The company was recently certified as a WBE (Women Business Enterprise). As a non-partisan, 100% Canadian-owned research company, Narrative Research is dedicated to providing clients with state-of-the-art research and strategic consulting services. 

The Logit Group (https://logitgroup.com/) is a leading North American data collection and market research execution company headquartered in Toronto, conducting large-scale projects for a variety of well-known research agencies and brands. Logit employs industry-best technologies across an array of methodologies, and is independent, experienced and quality-oriented. 

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