Ford Tories trail leaderless Liberals in new poll
· Toronto Sun
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OTTAWA — It’s more bad news for the Doug Ford Tories.
A little over a week after a new Angus Reid poll showed Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s approval ratings had reached all-time lows, new numbers released Friday by Liaison Strategies show the leaderless Ontario Liberals edging a slight lead over the Tories.
“The Liberals have moved from a tie to a three-point lead,” said Liaison Principal David Valentin.
“That is not a runaway lead, but the movement this month is against Ford. The PCs are down two points from May, the Liberals are up one, and the NDP is up two.”
If an election were held today, 38% of decided voters said they’d vote for the Ontario Liberals, with just 35% opting for the Doug Ford PCs.
The Ontario NDP continue their slight upward trajectory by snagging 22% of the vote.
Ford’s approval ratings reach personal lows
This continues a trend that began late last year, which saw support for the Tories slip as support for the Liberals — and to a lesser extent the Ontario NDP — climb.
Liaison’s numbers also correlate to last week’s Angus Reid data on approval ratings for provincial premiers , which put Ford dead last compared to his counterparts — joining Alberta’s Danielle Smith and B.C.’s David Eby as the least popular premiers in Canada.
According to Liaison, 69% of those polled do not approve of Ford’s performance as premier, compared to 26% who do approve, and five per cent who said they weren’t sure.
“The province’s direction numbers are no better,” Valentin said.
“Twenty-nine per cent say Ontario is headed in the right direction, while 66% say it is headed in the wrong direction. That is an extremely difficult environment for an incumbent government.”
Many unhappy with the health-care system
Liaison’s survey also identified health care as a key frustration point for Ontarians, with 60% reporting somebody in their household having trouble accessing timely health care during the past year.
As well, 67% of those polled said Ontario’s health-care system is worse than it was a year ago, with 20% saying it’s about the same, and 10% saying its gotten better.
Sixty-six per cent also said they don’t trust the current government to improve health care in Ontario.