Voter gap between CAQ, PQ narrows as political season resumes: poll

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QUEBEC — A new public opinion poll shows the gap between the governing Coalition Avenir Québec and the revived Parti Québécois has narrowed.

With Quebec’s political season slowly resuming after the summer hiatus, a Léger poll done for the Journal de Montréal shows the PQ still leading the pack in voter intentions.

But PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon returns from summer with three fewer points than he had in June. Pollsters have concluded the “new” factor that boosted his standing last spring is wearing off. At its peak, the PQ was polling way up, around 34 per cent.

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Support for the PQ now is pegged at 29 per cent compared with 24 per cent for the CAQ, Léger said, noting the slide of the CAQ seen last spring has also stopped.

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On his way into a cabinet meeting, Premier François Legault was cautious when asked about the poll.

“We’re working hard for Quebecers,” he said. “That’s the important thing. What I look at is results.”

The CAQ lost only one percentage point over the summer despite complaints by some analysts that Legault was not active or visible enough during the recent flooding in southern Quebec.

The poll says the level of satisfaction in the government climbed five percentage points over the summer.

The poll shows the Quebec Liberals and Québec solidaire both went up a point during the summer.

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Support for the Liberals now is estimated to be 16 per cent. QS is polling at 15 per cent. The Quebec Conservative Party has the support of 13 per cent.

The poll included one other interesting tidbit: the effect the arrival of federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez could have on the Liberal leadership race.

Even though Rodriguez has yet to announce whether he will run, he comes out among the top candidates Liberals would like to see at the head of the party.

While former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre is supported by 16 per cent of Liberals, Rodriguez is second at 13 per cent. Charles Milliard, the former president of the Fédération des chambres de commerce, has the support of seven per cent of Liberals.

Frédéric Beauchemin, the Liberal MNA for the riding of Marguerite-Bourgeoys, has the support of only one per cent of Liberals, the poll says. Beauchemin has not officially announced he is running for the job.

The poll also reveals that one in two Quebecers — 47 per cent — think Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should resign before the next federal election.

And in another twist, the poll says the biggest number of supporters of Donald Trump in the American election — 54 per cent — are members of the Quebec Conservatives. Members of the other parties support Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris.

The Léger poll of 1,041 Quebecers was conducted Aug. 23-25. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.04 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

The National Assembly resumes sitting Sept. 10.

pauthier@postmedia.com

x.com/philipauthier

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