Liberals earn sunny support

Survey shows PM’s popularity comes from across party lines

It’s still sunny days for Justin Trudeau a year after his election as prime minister, according to a newly released poll.

Forty-nine per cent of people sampled in a Forum Research poll would vote Liberal if a federal election were held now, while Trudeau has 56 per cent of the electorate’s approval.

“The Liberal support remains very high,” said Forum president Lorne Bozinoff.

Trudeau’s leadership style and investment in the economy help explain the popularity, Bozinoff said.

If an election were held today, the Liberals would win 240 seats in the House of Commons compared the 182 seats they now hold, he estimated.

The Conservatives would get 30 per cent of the vote while the New Democrats would be down at 12 per cent, with the Bloc Québécois 5 per cent and Greens 4 per cent.

The survey notes that Trudeau’s appeal crosses party lines. Trudeau was found to have the approval of 92 per cent of Liberals sampled and 49 per cent of New Democrats.

An odd feature, according to Bozinoff, is that Conservative support seems to be bleeding over to the NDP. Bozinoff said he suspects that some Liberals shifted their support to the NDP while Conservatives shifted to the Liberals.

“It is curious to see the NDP stealing share, directly or indirectly, from the Conservatives, when the Liberals are usually the target,” Bozinoff said.

Results are based on the total sample of1,384 Canadian voters between Oct. 11 and 12, and are considered accurate, plus or minus, within three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.