Liberals increase lead over Tories
While polling remains close between Dwight Ball and Ches Crosbie as the people’s choice for premier, party support gets stronger for the Liberals
The Liberals have extended their lead over the Progressive Conservatives and New Democratic Party as the party of choice in Newfoundland and Labrador, according to a poll for Corporate Research Associates (CRA).
The poll, released Wednesday, shows the Liberals with 46 per cent of the vote, if the provincial election were held today, up by three points over the previous CRA poll released in August.
Public support for the Liberals is now at its highest level since February 2016, when it was at 66 per cent before the 2016 provincial budget came down.
The Tories are in second place, holding consistent at 35 per cent of those polled, while the NDP dipped by two per cent for 17 per cent of the vote.
Undecided voters account for 27 per cent of the voting public, according to the poll.
The poll says 43 per cent of people are mostly satisfied with Premier Dwight Ball’s Liberal government, with two per cent completely satisfied. Those mostly satisfied have increased by four per cent since August, while those completely satisfied decreased by two per cent.
A total of 51 per cent of those polled are mostly or completely dissatisfied with the government, down by two per cent overall since August.
On a leader-by-leader basis, the polls remain close between Ball and Tory Leader Ches Crosbie. Ball has 32 per cent support, while Crosbie has 30 per cent. NDP Leader Gerry Rogers sees 17 per cent of public support.
The poll was conducted between Nov. 1 and 24, 2018. A total of 800 voters were polled, with the margin of error at plus or minus 3.5 per cent.