PCs Now Leading Liberals in NB

MQO Research spoke with 600 residents of New Brunswick to gauge the political temperature in the province for the May edition of our quarterly political poll: Atlantic Matters.

Provincial Politics

According to the latest polling numbers, the PC Party has overtaken the Liberals in May. Among decided and leaning voters:

  • Current Liberal support decreased 11 percentage points to 35%.
  • PC Party support jumped 6 percentage points to 43%.
  • NDP support held relatively steady at 7%.
  • Support for the Green Party exhibited little change as well at 11%.
  • The undecided / no vote group held steady at 44% this quarter.

Government Performance

Despite the drop in party support, ratings for the leadership of Premier Brian Gallant held steady this quarter with a mean score of 5.1 (on a 10-point scale).

Provincial Outlook

The economic outlook for the province was relatively unchanged in May. 32% of New Brunswick residents reported that their outlook on the economy had worsened over the past three months, up marginally from 28% in January. 51% indicated their outlook had stayed the same, down slightly from 55% while the percentage who felt things had gotten better held steady at 12%.

Federal Politics

Federally, the Conservatives are now leading the Liberals in New Brunswick. Among decided and leaning voters:

  • Liberal support dropped 16 percentage points to 37%.
  • Conservative support jumped 13 percentage points to 44%.
  • NDP support edged down 4 percentage points to 7%.
  • Green Party support increased 6 percentage points to 10%.
  • Ratings of government performance under Justin Trudeau also dropped significantly with a mean score of 4.7 (down from 5.3 in October 2017).

The Atlantic Matters poll was conducted by telephone from April 19th to May 16th, 2018 and included 600 randomly selected eligible voters from across the province. The margin of error for the total sample is ± 4.0 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

About MQO Research

MQO Research is one of Atlantic Canada’s leading market research firms, providing research insights to clients throughout the region and beyond. Our team includes experts in quantitative and qualitative methodologies and program evaluation. MQO is a Gold Seal member of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA) and as such subscribes to the highest standards of information gathering and research ethics in the industry in Canada.

MQO is part of Group m5, the largest communications organization in Eastern Canada. The Group m5 family of brands includes m5 Marketing Communications, m5 Public Affairs, MQO Research, and Wavelight Productions.

For more information on Atlantic Matters or MQO Research, contact:

Tracey Stephenson
[email protected]
Phone: 506-852-7281
Cell: 506-850-8077

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