Liberals lead by 6; Canadians Know Trump Admin Better than Canadian Cabinet
September 24 (Toronto, ON) – A new national Liaison Strategies finds Canadians know the Trump administration better than they know their own Canadian Cabinet Ministers. The poll, conducted for the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) also finds the federal Liberals lead by 6 over the Conservatives, 43% to 37%.
Conducted from September 19 to 21, 2025, using Interactive Voice Response (IVR), the survey polled 1,000 Canadians. The margin of error is ±3.09 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Liaison Strategies is one of the most accurate polling firms in Canada. It ranked #1 in accuracy in the 2025 Ontario election and #2 nationally in the 2025 federal election. Liaison is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC).
David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies said:
The Prime Minister continues to hold a solid approval rating at 60%, though this is down three points from recent weeks. Disapproval has risen to 35% (+2), with another 5% (+1) unsure. Carney remains far better known, and better rated, than any cabinet minister tested in the survey. While all ministers registered net positive approval, most are not well recognized by Canadians, especially compared to members of the Trump administration.
Net Approvals of the Canadian Cabinet:
Mark Carney, Prime Minister: +25
Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance: +14
Julie Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment: +10
Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs: +9
Sean Fraser, Attorney General: +9
Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Canada-US Trade: +8
Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing: +6
Melanie Joly, Minister of Industry: +4
Some of the approval numbers for Liberal cabinet ministers almost certainly reflect the party’s six-point lead over the Conservatives and the Prime Minister’s continued majority support. By contrast, members of Trump’s cabinet are far better known than their Canadian counterparts, but both the President and his team register strongly negative net approval ratings.
Net Disapprovals of the Trump Cabinet:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services: -61
Donald Trump, U.S. President: -59
J.D. Vance, U.S. Vice-President: -57
Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State: -57
Kristi Noem, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security: -43
Scott Bessent, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury: -38
Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of Defence: -38
Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General, -33
Excluding Trump and Carney, 43% of Canadians say they are not familiar or not sure about individual Canadian cabinet ministers, compared to 34% who say the same of Trump’s cabinet. These figures were calculated by combining the responses for “Not Familiar With” and “Not Sure.”
Among key Conservative and NDP figures, the New Democrats post mostly modest positives, while Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre remains underwater at -16. Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman records a +8, while House Leader and former leader Andrew Scheer comes in at -12.
NDP leadership contenders Avi Lewis and Heather McPherson are not well known, but still register modest net approvals of +3 and +5. Since only party members will vote for the next leader, these results are not a measure of their strength in the race, but they do provide a useful baseline for tracking their public profile as the contest unfolds.
Lastly, on vote intention: while Liberal support has slipped overall, strong leads in Quebec and Ontario would still deliver a majority government if an election were held today. The race is much closer in British Columbia, and support in Atlantic Canada has tightened - though the smaller sample size in that region means larger swings are common.
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Detailed Poll Report:
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.