Canadians want to see another Tory leading the Conservative party, including former prime minister Stephen Harper, a new poll shows..In fact, of nine suggested leaders of the party, seven of them are preferred over Scheer, says the Abacus poll..“But there are different factions within the conservative movement in Canada, some reflecting conservative social values, some western alienation, some a pro-oil perspective, while others want a party that embraces climate action and a broad inclusive value system.” the poll showed..Prefered to Scheer are two of Brian Mulroney’s children – Mark and Caroline – Harper, Brian Pallister, Brad Wall and Peter MacKay and Michelle Rempel..Across the country, 60% would prefer MacKay to Scheer..Scheer is only ahead of Erin O’Toole and Jean Charest..“In Ontario, the province where Conservatives most fell short of their goals in the last election, 8 of the nine names have more support than Mr. Scheer. MacKay, Harper and Caroline Mulroney have the largest advantage over Mr. Scheer,” the poll found..“However, the choice of leader will ultimately reflect the preferences of Conservative Party members. Among Conservative voters, Mr. Scheer is preferred to eight of the nine names, the only exception being Stephen Harper. .“Public comments from leading Conservatives reveal that there’s obviously some restiveness in the Conservative Party today. To some extent, this reflects a belief that the party could have formed a government and fell short of that goal,” said Abacus’ Bruce Anderson..Said Abacus’ David Coletto: “Our test of potential alternatives to Mr. Scheer finds none, except for Mr. Harper, are preferred over Mr. Scheer among those who voted Conservative in the last election. This should give him some comfort, especially since Conservative members will ultimately decide whether to initiate a leadership election..“But beyond the Conservative universe, Scheer’s performance against Mr. MacKay, Ms. Mulroney, or Mr. Wall should give Conservatives some pause to reflect on why Mr. Scheer failed to break-through and whether it is a question of leadership, tone, or party positioning.”.The survey was conducted online with 3,000 adult Canadians from Nov. 12 to 17 with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.79 per cent, 19 times out of 20..The full poll can be found at https://abacusdata.ca/andrew-scheer-or-who/
