An Abacus survey published Wednesday shows the mounting distaste for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spiked this week and is now at an all-time high. “A total of 84% of Canadians want a change in government,” the researchers found.The poll, which surveyed 2,000 Canadians between November 9 and 12, showed Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives’ lead grow 16 points while the Trudeau Liberals dropped a further four since the last survey two weeks ago. Just 26% “approve of the job performance of the federal government,” while 58% outright “disapprove” of its performance.More than half of Canadians (52%) want change and feel there is a good alternative, 32% want change but are “not completely comfortable with the alternatives,” and only “16% believe that Justin Trudeau and the Liberals deserve to be re-elected.”.“If an election were held today,” Abacus reported, “41% of committed voters would vote Conservative, with the Liberals at 25%.” “This is now the largest Conservative lead we have measured in our tracking since the 2015 election.”The Bloc Québécois is at 28%, the NDP at 19% and the Greens at 3%. Maxime Bernier and the People’s Party of Canada is not mentioned in Abacus’ conclusion, however its data shows the party is doing better than the Greens..The survey included several topics regarding Canadian politics and current events and intended to gauge the latest estimates of voter intention and “the mood of the country,” as well as views on the Liberal government’s performance and “impressions” of the other party leaders. Conservatives lead Western Canada, including BC and have a 15-point lead in Ontario and 12 in Atlantic Canada. The party also leads in every age demographic, leading by three points for people 18 to 29 years old, 17 points for people 20 to 44, 18 points for 45 to 59-year-olds and 19 points for people over 60. Liberals are tied with the BQ in Quebec, where the Conservatives are nine points behind the Liberals. “We have seen a deterioration in the general mood of the public,” the researchers said, citing only 23% of adults think Canada is “headed in the right direction” and a whopping 61% think the country is “off on the wrong track.”“This is the worst outlook we’ve measured on this point.”The prime minister’s “impressions” have become increasingly low too, with 58% of Canadians having a negative impression, which is “the highest” Abacus has “ever recorded.” The Liberal leader garnered “positive impression” in 25% of the population, but a “net favourable of minus 33.”NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s impressions plummetted in the past two weeks as well, with a net favourable of minus four.Pierre Poilievre has a net favourable score of plus four.“As Canadians react to the war between Hamas and Israel, experience rising tensions on the issue here at home and react with the federal government’s efforts to reduce the impact of inflation and higher interest rates, their mood has soured even further,” said Abacus CEO David Coletto.“Those thinking the country is headed in the right direction is at its lowest level since we’ve been tracking it, including during the worst moments of the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government’s approval rating and how people feel about the Prime Minister have also shifted negatively in the past two weeks.”“All this adds up to continued strength for the Conservatives and weakness for the Liberals in vote intention,” he added. Conservatives have “the largest lead we have measured.”
