PM’s falling support is his wake-up call

The more they know, the less they like. That seems to be the Canadian public’s attitude towards Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at least according to a new poll out from Angus Reid Institute.

For the first time since Trudeau became prime minister, more people disapprove of his job performance than approve. This signals that a line has now been crossed. Two years into Trudeau’s mandate, his support is flagging.

While 46 per cent of people give Trudeau the thumbs up, 49 per cent aren’t buying what he’s selling. Dig deeper and it gets worse.

There are more than twice as many people out there who strongly disapprove of his performance (29 per cent) as there are those who strongly approve (13 per cent). Those who dislike him are more passionate in their perspective than those who like him.

Here’s the worst part, courtesy of the polling firm’s release: “more Canadians say it is ‘time for a change’ in government (46 per cent) than say Trudeau’s Liberals should be re-elected (32 per cent).”

Ouch.

The higher they are the harder they fall. These aren’t the numbers Canada’s selfie king is used to generating.

The main saving grace for the PM is that the poll reveals Canadians aren’t overly familiar with the opposition leaders. More than a quarter of Canadians still don’t know Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

This means it’s not the case that voters are desperate to run from Trudeau to someone else. They’re just unhappy with how Trudeau’s governing himself, and the country.

Liberal strategists shouldn’t use the lack of opposition support as a reason to downplay Trudeau’s dwindling popularity. The broader news should be a humbling moment for them.

While Trudeau plunges the country into deficits and jets around the world he should wake up to the reality of how regular Canadians feel and think.

Angus Reid Institute also looked at the issues of top concern to voters. The deficit and government spending has now inched up to be the first place worry, tied with the economy.

We learned at the beginning of Trudeau’s term that he was never serious about running only “modest” deficits. Canadians are clearly increasingly bothered by their big spending PM.

Trudeau needs to take these concerns seriously and adjust his priorities accordingly.