Ford PCs Lead Liberals by 10, 49% of Ontarians Would Abolish Carbon Tax
April 11, 2024 (Toronto, ON) – A new Liaison Strategies poll for the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) finds the Doug Ford PCs leading the Crombie Liberals by 10 points while almost a majority of Ontarians (49%) would abolish the carbon tax today if given the chance.
Conducted from April 6-7, 2024, using interactive voice response technology, the Liaison poll surveyed 1,280 Ontario voters. The margin of error for the poll is +/- 2.74%, 19 times out of 20. Liaison is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC)."The Ford PCs and Crombie Liberals have each nudged up one point to 40% and 30% respectively," said David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies.
"This month the Ontario NDP are down to 18% - that's 6 points less than their 2022 result. Once again however the province-wide results mask more competitive races that are taking place at the regional level."
"In Southcentral Ontario, which includes Niagara and Hamilton, the NDP (31%) are effectively tied with the Ford PCs (32%). In Toronto, it's the Liberals who lead with 39% followed by the Tories at 35%. Meanwhile in the 905 we see a close race with the PCs at 43% and the Liberals at 40%."
"For the last few months we've found the Liberals leading in the north but now the PCs are leading 34% to 30% - well within the regional margin of error."
"When it comes to climate change and the carbon tax - Ontarians have a lot of mixed opinions but 54% say that affordability and the cost of living is more important than protecting the environment."
"62% of Ontarians believe the amount of pollution being produced in Ontario is decreasing and a majority (54%) say the federal government is doing the most to fight pollution. 64% also believe the provincial government is doing the least which does not come as a surprise."
"When it comes to the carbon tax almost 1 in 2 (49%) Ontarians would abolish it today if given the chance but when Ontarians are asked if they support abolishing both the carbon tax and the carbon tax rebate support for abolishing the carbon tax drops 8% to 41%. It's only then that we see competitive numbers for the carbon tax (37% would then say they would keep it)."
"Even when the rebate is invoked most parts of the province would still choose to abolish the carbon tax but there are a few areas that buck the trend. In Southwestern Ontario and the 905 the spread is only 3 points (41% abolish, 38% keep it) while in Toronto more want to keep it by 4 points (41% keep, 39% abolish)."
"Opposition is highest in Northern Ontario where 57% would scrap the carbon tax even after being told about the rebate," concluded Valentin.
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About Liaison Strategies
Liaison Strategies is a national public opinion research firm. With 12 years of experience in Canadian polling, David Valentin, principal, has fielded hundreds of projects at the municipal, provincial and federal levels and appeared across Canadian media to discuss insights. Liaison is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC), Canada’s voice of the research, analytics, and insights profession both domestically and globally.
About the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada
The National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and integrate economic, social and cultural interests of Ethnic communities into the mainstream of Canadian society. NEPMCC represents Canada’s Ethnic Press to the provincial and federal governments and is the major industry association for Canada’s non-official language newspapers, TV, radio and online outlets.
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