The Southwest Booster

Winter of Discontent: As Trudeau’s approval deteriorat­es, can his rivals make gains?

- ANGUS REID INSTITUTE

At the end of what has been a challengin­g and at times chaotic year across the federal political landscape, Canadian approval of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues to decline.

With less than a year before an expected election, the number of people who favour Trudeau has fallen to 35 per cent, down from 46 per cent this time a year ago.

For the first time since October 2015, he is no longer seen as the national party leader who would be the best prime minister. That mantle now narrowly rests with Conservati­ve Party of Canada (CPC) leader Andrew Scheer (33 per cent prefer Scheer; 27 per cent Trudeau), although many say they don’t know just who would be ideal in the top job (26 per cent).

Underlying the downward shift in the PM’S approval is a tumultuous 12 months that saw his government face criticism for its handling of a number of key files, including pipelines, trade negotiatio­ns, and irregular border crossings.

More Key Findings:

- Younger Canadians, who were outliers in their majority approval of Trudeau until now, appear to have lost some Liberal love. The Prime Minister’s approval drops to 42 per cent among 18-34-year-olds, from 56 per cent last year at this time;

- NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservati­ve leader Andrew Scheer remain a question mark to significan­t segments of potential voters. But while Singh holds the approval of just one-in-five (21 per cent), Scheer’s approval is tied with Trudeau’s (36 per cent).

The full poll can be viewed at www.angusreid.org/federaliss­ue-dec2018

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