CONTROVERSIES, mistakes and attacks by the opposition didn’t seem to make a dent in the popularity of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his federal Liberals as clearly reflected in the latest Nanos federal tracking (December 22).
The Liberals are comfortably perched on top with 42.8 per cent support, followed by the Conservatives at 29.1 per cent, the NDP at 20 percent, the Bloc Quebecois at 3.3 per cent and the Greens at 4.2 per cent.
It seems that the real battle in 2018 will be between the Conservatives under their new leader Andrew Scheer and the NDP under the new leader Jagmeet Singh.
Asked whether they would consider voting for each of the federal parties, 57.6 per cent of Canadians say they would consider voting Liberal, while 45.4 per cent would consider voting Conservative and 43.5% would consider voting NDP.
Only 24.2 per cent and 31.3 per cent of Canadians would consider voting for the BQ and Green parties, respectively.
Nanos tracking has Trudeau as the preferred choice as PM at 48.3 per cent of Canadians, followed by Scheer at 22, Jagmeet Singh at 7.9% and May at4.5%. Seventeen per cent of Canadians were unsure who they preferred.
Two in three Canadians (65.5%) believe Trudeau has the qualities of a good political leader. The figures for the other leaders: Scheer – 39.4%; Jagmeet Singh – 40.1%, and Green Party’s Elizabeth May – 41.7%. In Quebec, 23.6% said BQ Leader Martine Ouellet has the qualities of a good political leader.