Federal Politics and the Economy

February 28, 2024

Every month, we conduct a survey of Canadians and Americans to explore their views on the economy, finances, and their respective governments. This month, our survey was conducted between February 23 and 25, 2024.

Download the report for the full results.

This series of surveys is available on Leger’s website. Would you like to be the first to receive these results?  Subscribe to our newsletter now. 


Some of the key highlights of our survey about Canadian federal politics and the economy include…

Poilievre still in the lead

  • Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party remains in the lead, 16 points ahead of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party. If a federal election were to be held today, 41% of Canadians would vote for the Conservative Party of Canada, while 25% would vote for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party.
  • Canadians also think Pierre Poilievre is the leader who would make the best Prime Minister among the federal party leaders (27%), ahead of Justin Trudeau (17%) and Jagmeet Singh (16%).
  • Two-thirds of Canadians (66%) are dissatisfied with Trudeau’s government, with 42% being very dissatisfied, representing a 4-point increase since January (42% vs. 38% in January).

Canadians’ perception of the country’s economy remains stable.

  • 61% of Canadians consider their household finances to be good, while 55% of Americans feel the same way.
  • Almost two-thirds of Canadians (61%) and 56% of Americans believe their respective countries are in a recession.
  • Almost half of Canadians (48%) say they live paycheque to paycheque, while 55% of Americans say the same thing. This represents a 6-point increase since last month among Americans who say they are living paycheck to paycheck (49% in January).

Some of the key highlights of our survey about American politics…

  • Trump is taking the lead in voting intentions. If the Presidential election were to be held today, Trump would secure 46% of the votes, while Biden would secure 42%.
  • Donald Trump is still the preferred Republican candidate for president in 2024, receiving 75% of support from Republican voters, while his only rival still in the race, Nikki Haley, is preferred by 10% of the Republican voters.
  • Ron DeSantis (21%) would be the preferred candidate to be Donald Trump’s vice president running mate if he receives his party’s nomination, followed closely by Vivek Ramaswamy (16%).
  • Nearly one-third of Americans (32%) think that Donald Trump should be the Republican candidate, even if he is convicted and imprisoned. This number is significantly higher among republican voters (64%).
  • Seven out of ten Republicans (70%) would vote for Donald Trump even if he were found guilty and imprisoned. This marks a 6-point increase since January.
  • Almost one-third of Americans (30%) think the 2024 presidential elections will take place peacefully, while 70% think there will be disturbances, protests, and civil disobedience. Republicans are more likely to think the election will be peaceful (36%).
  • More than half of Americans disapprove of Joe Biden’s job as president (54%), while less than one-third approve (31%).

Methodology

This web survey was conducted from February 23 to 25, 2024, with 1,590 Canadians and 1,005 Americans, 18 years of age or older, randomly recruited from LEO’s online panel.

A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey. For comparison, a probability sample of 1,590 respondents would have a margin of error of ±2.49%, 19 times out of 20, while a probability sample of 1,005 respondents would have a margin of error of ±3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

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