Majority of Canadians believe that both the Liberal and Conservative parties should replace current leaders before next election.
January 4, 2023 – A recent survey Canada-wide survey of 1,021 people found that 51% of respondents think the federal Liberals should find a new leader to replace Justin Trudeau, who has been at the helm of the party for almost 10 years and has served as Prime Minister since 2015.
Conducted by Nanos Research, the survey showed that a majority of Canadians believe that both the Liberal and Conservative parties should replace their current leaders before the next federal election.
This sentiment was particularly strong in the Prairies, where 58% of respondents said Trudeau should step down. In Ontario and Quebec, where Trudeau is an MP, 48% and 49% of respondents, respectively, also support a change in leadership. In the Atlantic provinces, 56% of those polled said someone else should lead the Liberals during the next election.
In a recent opinion piece, John Ivision wrote in the National Post on the negativity and regional ruptures across Canada, “Trudeau is not solely responsible for those divisions, but he is most responsible because he has pursued policies designed to offer voters, in the words of one minister, “stark choices.” In other words, the national interest is, and has been, subservient to Liberal party fortunes and the political wedge.”
The survey found 45% of Canadians think the Conservatives should find an alternative to leader Pierre Poilievre, who has only been at the helm since September 2021. While 30% of respondents would like to see Poilievre lead the Conservatives into the next election, far more men (39%) than women (22%) would like him to stay on as party leader.
Poilievre’s support was found to be stronger in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba compared to Ontario and Quebec. In Ontario, where he is an MP, 29% of respondents said he should continue leading the party, while in Quebec, the proportion was even lower at 17%.
Pollster Nanos Comments on Trudeau
Nik Nanos, chairman of Nanos Research, attributed the desire for new leadership to a feeling of fatigue with the current party leaders. “Every prime minister in every party has a best-before date,” he said.
“The secret to longevity and success is to continually remake and renew your vision.” The poll also found that a significant proportion of respondents, 17%, had no preference when it came to whether the current leaders stayed or went, suggesting a high degree of ambivalence.
The poll, which had a margin of error of 3.1% (19 times out of 20), comes as the Liberal Party, which formed a second minority government after the 2021 general election, has entered a confidence-and-supply agreement with the NDP to stay in power until June 2025. As part of this agreement, the Liberals have committed to a number of policy initiatives, including the creation of a new dental care program for low- and middle-income Canadians.
