Canadians want less social conservatism, more fiscal conservatism: Poll

According to the poll, conducted for The Globe and Mail, 33 percent of Canadians said the “ideal” party leader would not be socially conservative, while 15 percent said they view the future party leader as being “very socially conservative.”

Over one third (33 percent) said that the next leader would ideally be neutral on social issues, with another 14 percent saying they are not sure.

The poll found that it was those who voted for the Conservatives regularly who were more likely to say they wanted the future leader to be “very socially conservative and very economically conservative” than others who have not voted for the party.

Regular party voters, though had a higher likelihood of being in favour of a Conservative Party leader that is more economically conservative, rather than socially conservative.

The poll was made up of 1,003 Canadians from January 27-29, with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

Founder and chief data scientist Nik Nanos said that the Tories need to be mindful of the optics of electing a social conservative. With good reason, too. This past election saw old footage of Andrew Scheer discussing gay marriage. The footage went viral, as Scheer’s comments went against the grain of what would be considered “acceptable discourse” by voting blocks the Conservatives could have been attempting to win over.

Nanos went on to say that potential frontrunners such as Peter MacKay and Erin O’Toole are “more traditional Conservative candidates who are more likely to focus on fiscal issues.”