Liberals are in trouble, regardless of who becomes leader: Pollster

Whoever takes over from Justin Trudeau is going to have a big challenge ahead.

Pollster Mario Conseco from Research Co tells 1130 NewsRadio that support for the federal Conservatives is higher than it’s ever been.

“And the level of support for the Conservatives is higher than 50 per cent in all the regions,” he explained. “In B.C., we have them at 54 per cent, which is a level they never had when Stephen Harper was prime minister.”

Conseco’s poll was taken before Trudeau announced on Monday that he would step down from the Liberal leadership and from being prime minister once a new leader is found.

Trudeau made the long-awaited announcement at Rideau Hall in Ottawa following a bombshell report from the Globe and Mail over the weekend highlighting the prime minister’s intentions to resign.

Over the winter holiday break, Trudeau reflected on his future amid growing calls from his caucus to step down. On Monday morning, he met with Governor General Mary Simon and asked for the prorogation of Parliament until March 24.

“The fact is, despite best efforts to work through it, Parliament has been paralyzed for months after what has been the longest session for a minority government in Canadian history. I intend to resign as Party Leader and Prime Minister after the party selects its next leader following a national, robust, rigorous, and competitive process,” Trudeau stated.

Conseco shares that what’s really striking with his results, is that voters aged between 35 and 54 are abandoning the party in droves.

“One thing that is interesting is the level of comfort that Canadians have with Pierre Poilievre being in charge of the economy,” he said. “Right now, we have 55 per cent of Canadians who say that is the case; they don’t have a problem with Pierre Poilievre administering and taking charge of the nation’s finances.”

Canseco says the survey also found 47 per cent of Canadians would support the Conservative candidate in their riding if an election took place tomorrow.

“The situation would be definitely more complicated had Justin Trudeau stayed because his numbers are stagnant, he’s lagging Pierre Poilievre on the ‘best prime minister’ question,” he explained.

“[The poll] certainly suggests that if the Liberals are able to reconnect with the voters they’ve lost, it might be a closer result than what we would have had if an election had been held this month.”

With Trudeau’s resignation official, the constitution provides that the Liberal caucus can be consulted on who becomes the interim leader. Many names have been floated as possible replacements, including Chrystia Freeland, former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, and current Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, to name a few.

The constitution does not dictate the length of a leadership contest. However, candidates must gather the necessary signatures and deliver a written nomination letter to the party president at least 90 days before the vote.