New poll puts Greens ahead of Liberals

A new poll of P.E.I. voters has put public support for a third party ahead of both the Liberals and the PC’s for the first time. The Green Party of P.E.I. has gained five percentage points this quarter, earning the support of 38 per cent of decided Island voters compared with the Liberals’ 35 per cent, in the latest Corporate Research Associates poll released this morning. As of May, the Greens held the support of 33 per cent of Island voters compared to the Liberals’ 34 per cent. The PC party saw its public support decline from 26 per cent in May to 20 per cent as of August. Green Leader Peter Bevan-Baker continues to be the preferred leader in the province, with the backing of 38 per cent of those polled. One-fifth of Islanders were undecided on their party preference, while six per cent refused to state an opinion. Two per cent either supported none of the parties or did not plan to vote. Public support for the New Democratic Party remained unchanged between May and August, remaining at seven per cent. Voter support for the Liberals and Greens remains a statistical tie, given a margin of error of plus/minus 5.7 percentage points, 95 out of 100 times. The poll was conducted by telephone with a sample of 300 adult Prince Edward Islanders, Aug. 2-21, 2018. In terms of leader preference, one-quarter of P.E.I. residents expressed their support for Premier Wade MacLauchlan (25 per cent, compared with 24 per cent in May 2018), while four in 10 preferred Peter Bevan-Baker of the Green party (38 per cent, compared with 39 per cent). One in six supported James Aylward of the PC party (16 per cent, compared with 17 per cent), while five per cent backed Joe Byrne of the NDP (compared with four per cent). Finally, five per cent preferred none of these leaders (compared with three per cent), and one in 10 residents was unsure (11 per cent, compared with 13 per cent). With regards to government satisfaction, one-half of P.E.I. residents were satisfied (49 per cent, compared with 52 per cent three months ago), while nearly the same number of residents are dissatisfied (48 per cent, compared with 42 per cent). The number of residents who did not offer a definite opinion on the matter was two per cent (down from seven per cent). Since August 2017, public support for the Greens has increased from 18 per cent to 38 per cent, while support for the Liberals has decreased from 45 per cent to 35 per cent. Support for the PC party has remained comparatively stable but dropped from 24 per cent to 20 per cent.