EDITORIAL: Poilievre vs Trudeau on the issues

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The election of Pierre Poilievre as Conservative leader has given the federal Tories a bump in popular support compared to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals, according to several polls.

One of them by Ipsos for Global News released recently puts the spread between the two parties at five points — 35% for the Conservatives, 30% for the Liberals — while favouring Poilievre over Trudeau as prime minister 35% to 31%.

Other findings will be more concerning for the Liberals.

For example, 37% thought Trudeau is “in over his head” compared to 21% for Poilievre.

Poilievre bested Trudeau on having the best plan for the economy (26% to 18%); the best plan for Canada (24% to 21%); getting things done (24% to 21%); wanting to lead Canada for the right reasons (25% to 21%); uniting Canadians (20% to 17%); providing open, responsible and ethical government (22% to 16%); understanding day-to-day issues people are concerned with (22% to 16%); representing my values (22% to 19%); making things more affordable (22% to 15%) and getting government spending under control (26% to 14%).

Poilievre even scored narrowly ahead of Trudeau on having the best plan for healthcare (19% to 17%) a traditional weakness for the Conservatives.

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Trudeau bested Poilievre on the issue of having a hidden agenda (28% to 30%, where the lower score is the better one); having the right temperament and maturity to be PM (26% to 23%); respecting institutions and traditions (24% to 22%); and protecting minorities (20% to 18%).

Of course, numbers like this would be more concerning for the Liberals if an election was being held tomorrow, as opposed to three years from now, when Trudeau’s governing accord with NDP leader Jagmeet Singh runs out, if neither party breaks it before then.

Ipsos CEO Darrell Bricker predicts one of the areas Trudeau and the Liberals will use to attack Poilievre is his support for the Freedom Convoy, given that while 17% of Canadians surveyed said they would be more likely to vote for the Conservatives because of it, 41% said they would be less likely, with 41% saying it would have no impact on their vote.

So far, advantage Poilievre, but there’s a long way to go until the election.