Majority of Canadians see Trudeau’s election call as ‘power grab’: Poll

As federal leaders head out onto the campaign trail, questions have been expressed regarding the timing and reasoning behind Trudeau's decision to hold an election. A new poll released by Leger asked Canadians about their thoughts on these issues, and revealed that a majority of respondents had concerns.

According to the Leger poll, 69 percent of Canadians said they felt as though the election "could have waited until next year or later," with only 21 percent agreeing that now is a good time.

While 65 percent of Liberal voters said they thought the election was called too early, 81 percent of that demographic also stated the timing would not change how they vote.

That being said, 41 percent of NDP supporters stated it would impact how they vote. As the National Post reports, since most NDP voters who shift their vote tend to shift to the Liberals, it is unclear how this will play out come September 20th.

Trudeau has suggested that the main reasons behind his decision to hold an election were to fix the "toxic" and "dysfunctional" minority parliament, and to give Canadians a voice in the economic recovery.

When asked, however, whether they think the goal of holding an election now is to give Canadians a better say in the country's post-pandemic recovery, or a "power grab" by Trudeau, 62 percent of respondents voted for the latter.

Nearly half of Canadians said the number one reason the Liberals called the election is because it was their "best chance to win a majority government." The aforementioned reasons Trudeau laid out garnered only 11 percent and 19 percent, respectively.

Looking at the dwindling gap between the Liberals and their main competitors, the Conservatives and the NDP, Leger executive vice-president Andrew Enns said the fact that Canadians viewed the election as a power grab "could be some of what has dragged down the Liberal ballot fortunes."

A total of 2,002 online surveys were conducted via Leger’s online panel to conduct this poll. As a non-probability internet survey, a margin of error is technically not to be reported, says Leger's methodology.