OTTAWA– Federal Liberal under the leadership of Justin Trudeau have opened up a huge leader over the Stephen Harper Conservatives, which have hit a road block with their divisive policies and quickly eroding support in the immigrant ethnic communities, especially the Chinese-Canadian community which was key to Conservatives urban wins in Ontario.
Since April, Justin Trudeau and his Grits have jumped five points and are now gathering 38 per cent support, while Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Tories have fallen slightly to 31 per cent and the NDP remains unchanged at 24 per cent, according to a new poll.
As we approach next year’s election, Duane Bratt, a political scientist with Mount Royal University, says a seven point difference should be a worry to the Conservatives.
He says the Grit gain is due to a mix of a charismatic leader and the itch for change amongst voters.
Even though it’s early with the next federal election scheduled for October 15 of next year, but Trudeau and the Liberals have reason to believe their lead over Stephen Harper’s Conservatives has staying power.
While recent polls have suggested the Tories might be gaining some ground on the Grits after months of steady declines, the latest Ipsos poll shows the opposite. The Liberals are up five points since Ipsos was last in the field in April and the Tories are down two points to 31 per cent support.
Another poll released Monday, this one from Abacus Data, also showed Liberal gains and Tory losses. That poll put the Grits up one point since July to 35 per cent support and the Conservatives down two points to 29 per cent support.
Despite the good news, Trudeau said Monday that his party has plenty of work ahead if it hopes to form the next government.
“We’re sitting at 37 seats in the House of Commons, we’re distant third place in reality and the fact Canadians are now looking at the Liberal party as the potential next government means we have to roll up our sleeves and work even harder to earn that trust between now and the next election,” Trudeau told a crowd in Bridgewater, N.S., according to the Chronicle Herald.
