Carney Seen as Best Leader to Represent Canada, Navigate Tough Economic Times
At the start, the election appears to be driven by the views Canadians have of the various party leaders. In every way that matters, Liberal Party leader Mark Carney is running well ahead of his opponents. Given the ongoing tensions with the United States under President Donald Trump, Canadians see Carney as best to help navigate the uncertainty: Carney’s lead over Conservative Pierre Poilievre is highest for being best to represent Canada on the world stage (+15 pts vs. Poilievre), being the best to manage during tough economic times (+15 pts), having the right temperament and maturity to be Prime Minister (+14 pts), being someone who can stand up to President Trump (+12 pts), and being someone who can help make us proud to be Canadians (+11 pts). By contrast, Pierre Poilievre only leads on negative statements: being seen as having a hidden agenda (+18 pts vs. Carney), being someone who will say anything to get elected (+15 pts), and someone who is in over their head (+11 pts).
Canadians continue to unite under Mark Carney as their choice for best Prime Minister, with 44% (+2 pts vs. earlier this month) selecting Carney as best for the job. One-third (33%, +1 pt) think Pierre Poilievre would make the best Prime Minister of Canada. While Carney is running in line with his Liberal Party, Pierre Poilievre is running five points behind vote for his Conservative Party.
Confidence in Jagmeet Singh is waning, as just 8% pick him as Prime Minister, down four points from our last survey.
Carney’s lead is strongest among those 55+ (50%). Although Carney still leads Poilievre among those 18-34 (38% among this group selected Carney vs. 34% Poilievre), the lead is much narrower than for Canadians overall.
Voters in Alberta and Saskatchewan/Manitoba are more likely to select Poilievre (44% in each) as best Prime Minister, while those in Atlantic Canada (48%) and Ontario (47%) are more likely to select Carney.
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between March 24 and 26, 2025, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of n=1,500 eligible voters in Canada aged 18+ was interviewed. A sample of n=1,000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online, via the Ipsos I-Say panel and non-panel sources, and respondents earn a nominal incentive for their participation. A sample of n=500 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed by live-interview telephone interviewers by landline and cellphone, using random-digit dialing. Quotas and weighting were employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos polls which include non-probability sampling is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. Ipsos abides by the disclosure standards established by the CRIC, found here: https://canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca/standards/
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Darrell Bricker, PhD
CEO, Ipsos Global Public Affairs
+1 416 324 2001
[email protected]
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