Ontario Liberals Catching Up in The Polls

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TOGeordie
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Joined: August 4th, 2016, 10:55 pm

Ontario Liberals Catching Up in The Polls

#1 Unread post by TOGeordie » April 3rd, 2018, 1:06 pm

Ontario Liberal budget appears to work: New poll shows PCs unable to capture majority

Although a majority of voters said they favoured a ‘balanced budget,’ reams of promised spending appear to have attracted a resurgence in Liberal fortunes
Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa delivers the provincial budget at the Ontario Legislature, while Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne looks on in Toronto, Ont. on Wednesday March 28, 2018. Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network ORG XMIT: POS1803281656161721Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

The Ontario Liberals’ new spendthrift budget appears to have worked. According to a new poll from Forum Research, the party has closed the lead of the Progressive Conservatives.

The Liberals now have 29 per cent support to the Tories’ 36. According to Forum projections, if an election were held tomorrow, Doug Ford would not be able to win enough seats for a majority.

“The increase in support for the Liberals is as drastic as it is sudden,” Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff said in a statement.

Although 44 per cent of the 768 surveyed said they disapprove of the budget, specific elements seemed to have just enough appeal to swing the difference for the Liberals. Free daycare received a thumbs up from 53 per cent, while 74 per cent backed added spending to reduce overcrowding at hospitals.

The rise in Liberal fortunes appears to be due in part to the party sapping support from the NDP. Thursday’s poll showed that the popularity of the party of Andrea Horwath had diminished slightly to 26 per cent.

Still, while the budget may have swung a few crucial voters for the Liberals, it’s safe to say that it failed to obtain broad appeal. A plurality (38 per cent) said it was bad for the economy, 45 per cent said it made them less likely to vote Liberal and 56 per cent said they favoured a balanced budget.

The Liberal surge is also benefitting from a plunge in Progressive Conservative support that does not appear to have recovered from when sex misconduct allegations first arose in January against then-leader Patrick Brown.

Just before the allegations broke, Forum Poll had the Progressive Conservatives with more than 40 per cent support, more than enough to usher them into office with a majority government.

Although the party experienced a brief spike after the departure of Brown, their fortunes appear to have fallen with the selection of Doug Ford as leader.

In mid-March, a Forum poll found that 48 per cent of Ontarians surveyed disapproved of Ford as Progressive Conservative leader.

The Liberals’ strongest base of support was in the 416 region of Toronto, with 39 per cent. The Progressive Conservatives, meanwhile, saw their strongest support in Eastern Ontario (41 per cent) and the 905 region of Toronto (41 per cent).

UpandDown
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Joined: July 7th, 2015, 2:50 pm

Re: Ontario Liberals Catching Up in The Polls

#2 Unread post by UpandDown » April 3rd, 2018, 1:16 pm

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