Seen as better on core issues

The threat of a fourth wave of COVID-19, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, has Canadian governments and health officials pulling out all the stops to get their constituents fully vaccinated against the virus.

So far, however, it has had little effect on the march towards what is expected to be a September general election.

The latest data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds the Liberal Party holding a five-point advantage over the opposition Conservatives, as pandemic management rises in the minds of Canadians as an issue critical to them, and the country.

Indeed, COVID-19 management is up nine points since last week as a top priority for Canadians. It now ranks just behind climate change and healthcare policy as the clear top three issues facing the nation.

Asked which of the main federal party leaders they prefer on ten core federal issues, Prime Minister Trudeau leads by a considerable margin on COVID-19 management – but holds an advantage in no other area.

For Erin O’toole, the economy is a strength. While he holds a favourable view among just 27 per cent of Canadians, the opposition leader is the top choice to handle the economy, the deficit and the natural resource file.

Meantime, Canada’s most favourably viewed federal leader, the NDP’S Jagmeet Singh (48 per cent), is preferred on a number of issues – housing affordability, income inequality, Indigenous affairs and immigration.

More Key Findings:

- 38 per cent of Canadians view Prime Minister Trudeau favourably – unchanged from the previous week. Over half (58 per cent) view him unfavourably.

- The top five federal priorities for Canadians are climate change (35 per cent), health care (33 per cent), COVID-19 (31 per cent), the deficit (25 per cent) and housing affordability (26 per cent).

The full poll can be viewed online at https://angusreid.org/federal-politics-august-2021/