Latest news with #TrudeauLiberals
Hamilton Spectator
23-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Liberals' approval rating hits a high last seen during the first days of COVID, poll suggests
OTTAWA—The federal government's approval rating has hit its highest levels since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching numbers just shy of what former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted after his 2015 majority victory, a new poll suggests. Fresh numbers from Abacus Data show that 50 per cent of Canadians approve of Mark Carney's Liberals, a number double the approval ratings pulled in by the government during the final months of Trudeau's tenure. The approval rating following Carney's victory — which was two seats short of a majority — is comparable to the 51 per cent Trudeau boasted in the month following his 2015 majority win, and greater than 43 per cent recorded by former prime minister Stephen Harper after his own majority triumph in 2011. (The highest approval ratings for the Trudeau Liberals occurred two months into the pandemic, reaching 58 per cent in May 2020). The numbers, shared exclusively with the Star, come from the latest survey from Abacus Data, which was conducted with 2,273 Canadian adults from May 15 to 21. Because respondents were surveyed online, the poll cannot be considered truly random. A comparable random sample of the same size would have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.05 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The survey findings also show that 24 per cent of Canadians currently disapprove of the Carney government, and — despite the absence of an election call anywhere on the horizon — the Liberals have not experienced a postelection bump when it comes to voting intentions. If an election were held now, both the Liberals and Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives would be virtually tied at 41 per cent and 40 per cent respectively, figures comparable to polling data released near the end of this year's campaign. But it is the issues, not voter strategy, that is currently dominating the political agenda as MPs prepare to return to the House of Commons for the first time since December. Government officials are also turning toward next month's G7 summit in Alberta, which U.S. President Trump will officially attend, the White House confirmed on Thursday. Later that day, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne wrapped up a meeting of his G7 counterparts and central bankers in Banff, Alta., noting in a news release that the gathering produced 'a frank exchange on the global economy, unsustainable global imbalances, and ways to promote growth and productivity.' The latest Abacus Data survey showed that cost-of-living concerns and the threats posed by Trump and his administration are the top two issues seizing Canadians, while the Canadian economy more broadly and housing affordability and accessibility were the next most prominent issues. Thirty-three per cent of Canadians cited health care as one of their top three issues, followed by 25 per cent for immigration. But Canadians are split on which party is best suited to tackle each problem, with 41 per cent of respondents believing the Conservatives would handle cost-of-living woes best, compared to 30 per cent for the Liberals. Sixty-five per cent of respondents, meanwhile, believe the Liberals are the strongest party to face off against the Trump administration, with 17 per cent of respondents endorsing the Conservatives on that issue. The Conservatives also lead on the economy, housing affordability, immigration, unemployment and crime, while the Liberals were deemed the best party to address health care, climate change, and threats posed by China and Russia. The New Democrats, which posted their worst-ever election result last month, were nevertheless considered best-placed to deal with inequality and poverty in Canada.
Toronto Star
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
If you are reading this, are you part of a dying breed?
How are we to make sense of recent elections here and in the U.S.? Down there, Kamala Harris looked set to win, yet lost all key swing states. According to most mainstream media (MSM) reports, it shouldn't have happened. Here, Mark Carney seemed headed for a strong majority but lost the youth vote to Conservatives. (Just 10 years ago, the Trudeau Liberals swept it.) The NDP vapourized. The NDP. For about a century they've been an almost automatic go-to for youth. Adolescence could've been called your NDP phase.
Calgary Herald
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Bell: Smith is firm — for Carney and Canada it's her or Alberta separatists
Well, Canada. Well, Prime Minister Mark Carney. Article content Article content You've got to make a choice. Article content Deal with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith or tell Smith to take a hike and deal with the Alberta separatists. Article content 'I think we have to accept there's a lot of anger out there. A lot of anger after the last election. A lot of anger at the way we've been treated the last 10 years. There's a lot of groups organizing to try to do something about it,' says Smith, admitting separatist sentiment in Alberta is growing. Article content Article content Canadians have to realize they are the ones who fanned the flames of Alberta separatism. Article content Article content We're talking about those Canadians who supported the Trudeau Liberals or the NDP or the Bloc all those years when Prime Minister Sunny Ways went after Alberta time and time again, twisting the old political knife, going after a province churning out cash for the whole country. Article content Canadians were warned the continued mistreatment of Alberta could push people to a position Canadians would not like. The Liberals were warned. Article content They were told the score but they dismissed it as noise, not a big deal. Mildly irritating but not damaging. Article content The government of Canada, the Liberal government of Canada, acted in bad faith every step of the way. They misled the Alberta government. Article content They didn't take Alberta seriously. Article content Maybe they thought Alberta would just continue to eat crap because Alberta has eaten a lot of crap over the years. Article content This past election, Albertans voted against the Carney and the Liberals in almost every riding in the province and often in huge numbers. Article content Article content Smith now demands Carney, and the same old Liberal mob who screwed over Alberta, negotiate a new deal with the province and that means scrapping all the Liberal laws, rules and regulations put in place to give Alberta the shaft. Article content
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
LILLEY: Mark Carney sounds more like a Conservative with each new promise
Mark Carney wants to build national trade corridors across the country, he just doesn't want to build oil and gas pipelines across Quebec. Following a meeting with provincial premiers in Ottawa, Carney spoke about the need for diversifying our trade, it just doesn't involve pipelines that might possibly cross Quebec's jurisdiction. Over the past several days, Carney and his team have tried to make it sound like they are a departure from the Trudeau Liberals, even though all of Carney's cabinet was part of Trudeau's team. That is one of the main issues with Carney and his team – they aren't different in any way from the Trudeau team. This is the team that has overseen what is being described as the 'Trudeau Lost Decade' where gross domestic product per person fell dramatically compared to the United States and other OECD countries. Over the last ten years, GDP per capita has grown by more than 18% in the U.S. but by just 1.4% in Canada. Bottom line, we are all much poorer than we should be due to bad political decisions in Ottawa. Now, Carney wants you to believe he will change course even though he has been advising the Trudeau Liberal government since 2020. Speaking in Ottawa on Friday, Carney sounded like a Conservative as he promised to speed up the approval of resource projects. Yet, when asked about sounding like his opponent, even sounding like a Conservative, Carney downplayed the changes his party has made. He downplayed the idea that Canada should see more oil and gas projects approved quickly. LILLEY: As election starts, remember why campaigns matter LILLEY: While Carney locked in net-zero zealotry, Poilievre pushes prosperity LILLEY: Carney and his economic policies wrong for the time we are in This is the main issue with Mark Carney, he will tell audiences in Western Canada, while speaking in English, that he wants to expand Canadian oil and gas. Yet, when speaking in French, Carney will downplay the importance of the oil and gas sector and offer up a veto for Quebec on any national pipelines. Will Carney be able to work his magic and not be asked questions about these discrepancies? That remains to be seen. We do know that most of the establishment media is firmly behind Carney and his team. They are acting like a halleluiah chorus for the Liberal leader. On the sidelines is Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre who is trying to win over voters thrown aside by the Liberals and NDP. At an event on Friday morning, Poilievre said that if he were elected prime minister, he would boost training for skilled trades. 'The people who build the homes are not able to buy them,' Poilievre said. Poilievre promised to train 350,000 workers as part of his 'boots, not suits' program that would return federal apprenticeship grants and expand EI training to workers who are currently left out of the system. The coming election is one that will be fought over swing voters, often over what appear to those on the outside to be small issues, but they will be the deciding issues for those voters. While for some voters, especially older votes, the fight against Donald Trump will be all encompassing, that won't be the case for all voters. Polls show that voters under 45 are still concerned about the cost of living and housing costs. How this plays out over the election is something everyone will be watching. blilley@
