A new poll conducted by Abacus Data has found that nearly a quarter of Liberal voters do not believe Mark Carney is willing to change his mind when presented with better evidence.Only 58% of those who said they could be persuaded to vote Liberal expressed hope that the prime minister would do so.According to the poll, 78% of Liberals believed that Carney would alter his position if new evidence arose, compared to just 30% of Conservatives. Among all respondents, 56% agreed that the prime minister "makes decisions based on evidence, not ideology," with similar splits among supporters of the aforementioned political parties.Accessible Liberals and Conservatives were essentially in lock step when asked about Carney's personality and decision-making tendencies, such as whether he provides answers or talking points, understands the challenges faced by everyday Canadians, and puts the country's interests ahead of political gain..When asked the same questions about Pierre Poilievre, the results were flipped. A quarter of Conservatives said they did not believe he would change his mind when presented with better evidence, compared to 73% of Liberals. Accessible Liberals and Conservatives alike were less willing to agree that Poilievre provides answers or talking points, understands the challenges faced by everyday Canadians, and puts the country's interests ahead of political gain.While just 15% of Liberals said Carney "avoids unnecessary conflict and doesn't pick fights for the sake of it," 33% of Conservatives said the same of their party's leader.There were gaps between what people want and what they believe Carney and Poilievre can offer, though the margins were larger for the latter.Poilievre had a 26-point gap when it came to "putting the country ahead of politics," seven points larger than Carney's, for example, as well as 15- to 18-point gaps on being calm, having a plan, and communicating clearly.Carney, meanwhile, had a 19-point gap when it came to putting the country ahead of politics and a 17-point gap on understanding ordinary Canadians.
