Trudeau would best represent Canadians on world stage, but Scheer would get along better with Trump: poll
Posted Aug 27, 2019 9:50 am.
Last Updated Aug 27, 2019 10:54 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – When it comes to standing up for the country, Canadians appear to have a clear favourite with the federal election just less than two months away.
In the wake of the G7 summit in France, a new poll finds Canadians believe Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is best to wear the maple leaf around the world, but the Conservatives come out as a winner in another category.
“Trudeau tops that list with 39 per cent compared with (Andrew) Scheer at 31 per cent,” Quito Maggi with Mainstreet Research explains.
He says his poll for iPolitics shows the other leaders trailing far behind — in the single digits.
However, the results change significantly when people are asked who would get along better with U.S. President Donald Trump.
“On that question, Andrew Scheer leads pretty overwhelmingly by about 10 points over Justin Trudeau,” Maggi explains.
He notes foreign policy is not the top concern for voters in the upcoming federal election, but their view on international relations will likely play a factor as Canadians cast their ballots this fall.
Majority of Canadians considering voting strategically this fall, survey finds
Meantime, another Mainstreet Research survey has found about two-thirds of Canadians are considering a more strategic approach when it comes to voting this October.
The pollster suggests a stunning 62 per cent of respondents say they would consider voting strategically just to prevent a party they disagree with from forming government.
That, according to Maggi, makes it very difficult to forecast the results.
“How the polls, how the projections, how the models are forecasting the outcome of the election may swing a lot of vote at the very end,” he explains. “We did see this in 2015.”
He also notes there’s a lot of voter apathy, with 20 per cent saying they don’t support any of the major parties.
If a leader can some how motivate that base to actually cast a ballot, it could make a big difference in the outcome.
