Support grows for new PC government of Premier Dennis King

  • Decided support for PCs, and Greens, now higher than April popular vote.
  • Liberal support falls following election.
  • King and Green leader Peter Bevan-Baker tied on question of leadership. 

June 13, 2019: Six weeks after their election victory, popular support continues to build for the PEI Progressive Conservatives, while support for the provincial Liberals crumbles, according to the most recent survey by Narrative Research.

Premier Dennis King’s PCs captured 36.5% of the popular vote in the April 23 election. Their support among decided voters has now climbed to 43%. The provincial Green Party led by Peter Bevan-Baker, which won 30.6% of the popular vote in April, now has the backing of 36% of decided Island voters. Meanwhile the Liberal Party – which won 29.5% of the vote in April under former Premier Wade MacLauchlan – now has the support of 17% of decided voters. The New Democrats led by Joe Byrne have 3% support, the same percentage of votes they received in the election.

Fifteen percent of Islanders are undecided about which party they support, while 4% refuse to state their preference and 2% say they do not plan to vote in the next election.

In terms of leadership, King and Bevan-Baker are tied on the question of which party leader Islanders would most like to see as premier. Green leader Bevan-Baker is preferred by 35% of Islanders (compared to 37% in February), while the PC’s King is the choice of 34% (up from 15% in February). MacLauchlan, the outgoing Liberal leader, is preferred by 14% (compared to 20%), and the NDP’s Byrne is the choice of 4% (compared to 2%).

The Narrative Research survey also asked Islanders how satisfied they were with the performance of the previous Liberal government led by Wade MacLauchlan. Although voters had defeated the Liberals in April, a roughly equal number said they were satisfied with the government (47%) as said they were dissatisfied (45%).

These results are part of Narrative Research’sAtlantic Quarterly®, an independent telephone survey of Atlantic Canadians, and are based on a sample of 300 adult Prince Edward Islanders, conducted from May 6-23, 2019,with overall results accurate to within ± 5.7 percentage points, 95 out of 100 times. *(The sample of 241 decided voters is accurate to within ± 6.9 percentage points, 95 times out of 100.)

Narrative Research, www.narrativeresearch.ca, is one of Canada’s leading public opinion and market research companies. Founded in 1978, CRA is dedicated to providing clients with state-of-the-art research and strategic consulting services. Follow us on Twitter at @EveryNarrative.

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For more information, please contact: 

Margaret Chapman, COO and Partner, Narrative Research at (902) 493-3834, mchapman@narrativeresearch.ca

Narrative Research Atlantic Quarterly®– May 2019
Prince Edward Island Political Results

Sample:  300 Prince Edward Islanders (18 years plus)
Interview Dates: May 6-23, 2019
Overall Margin of Sampling Error:  ± 5.7 percentage points (95% confidence level)
Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.