A New Polling Season
Ontario goes to the polls in less than 125 days -- on June 2nd. A new polling season has begun in earnest. Pollsters are already reporting wildly different current voting intentions. In mid-January polls, Angus Reid had the NDP at 36%, PCs at 33% and the Liberals at 19%. Innovative Research placed the Liberals at 36%, the PCs 35% and the NDP at 22%. EKOS reported PCs 35%, NDP 27%, Liberal 26%. The latest poll from a new firm in the field, Counsel Public Affairs, has the PCs at 35%, NDP 31% and OLP 24%. In 2018, the last election, the PCs won a majority with 40% of the vote across Ontario. The NDP won Official Opposition status with 40 seats and 34% of the total vote. The Liberals fell from government to only seven seats in the Legislature, losing party status and gaining only 20% of the vote. In the past six months Premier Doug Ford’s approval rating has noticeably declined, dropping from the mid 40s to the low 30s. The PC share of voting intentions has declined at the same rate. Thi