NATIONAL PULSE – Tory leader O’Toole’s popularity plummets

Posted on December 10, 2021 in Feedback, National Pulse, Page One // 0 Comments

(Image: Erin O’Toole, Facebook)

By ANGUS REID INSTITUTE

December 10, 2021 – Ottawa can be a cold place throughout much of the year. For Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole, the chill is being exacerbated by changes in the political climate.

New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute show Canadians – including those who supported the CPC in September’s federal election – have cooled on O’Toole significantly.

Among past CPC voters favourability towards the leader has plummeted faster – 22 points over two months, from 81 per cent at the beginning of October to 59 per cent at the end of November.

O’Toole’s favourability among all Canadians, which peaked at 38 per cent in the days before the election, has dropped to a new low of 24 per cent.

Facing internal strife and scrutiny over the vaccination status of his caucus, the embattled Conservative chief is today less popular than former leader Andrew Scheer was when he was forced out of the job two years ago.

On the opposite side of the Commons, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s governing Liberal party has enjoyed a modest bump in vote intention since September, rising five points to 35 per cent

However, after failing to secure a majority in back-to-back elections, speculation has begun about Trudeau’s own future as leader of the party, and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, named this week to Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women List, has been suggested as a potential replacement. Trudeau, for his part, has said he intends to be at the party’s helm for the next election.

Whoever leads the party into the next election, the Liberals currently hold a six-point advantage in vote intention over the rival Conservatives after a hotly contested campaign two-and-a-half months ago.