Harper Falls to Third Place behind Rivals on Previously Key
Attribute Advantages

Toronto, ON - The traditional advantage that the Harper Conservatives have had on economic files has evaporated and has turned into an advantage for Thomas Mulcair and the NDP, while at the same time Mulcair continues to solidify his lead as the man voters believe would make the best Prime Minister, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News.

Thinking about which party and leader voters see as best able to deal with the weak performance of Canada's economy, four in ten (36%) believe that Thomas Mulcair and the NDP are best suited to deal with this file. By comparison, one third (33%) believe Justin Trudeau and the Liberals would be best on this issue, while only three in ten (31%) believe Harper and the Conservatives would be best, placing them last on an issue that they've traditionally dominated in the past.

In April of 2015, when asked which leader is "best to manage during tough economic times", Stephen Harper (45%) was by far the clear choice of Canadians over Mulcair (28%) and Trudeau (27%), underscoring how perceptions can completely change in just a few months' time.

Moreover, four in ten (39%) believe that Thomas Mulcair is the leader that would make the best Prime Minister, up 2 points, solidifying his lead over Justin Trudeau (32%, unchanged) and Stephen Harper (29%, down 2 points).

The economic policy platforms of each of the major parties have yet to be revealed in great detail. In the poll, Canadians were presented with eleven different ideas that have been crafted by the various political parties, and were asked whether or not they agreed that Canada's next government should pursue such a policy. Interestingly, fewer than half (46%) of Canadians believe that sticking to the current approach to managing the economy is the best way forward (a majority of 54% disagrees with this approach), which perhaps underscores the Harper Conservative's present struggles. Interestingly, more agree with balancing the budget (81%) than running deficits to increase infrastructure spending in order to create jobs (61%).

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These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between September 4 to 8, 2015 on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 949 Canadians eligible to vote was interviewed online via the Ipsos I-Say Panel. Weighting was then 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 online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 3.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all eligible voters 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.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002
[email protected]

About Ipsos in Canada

Ipsos is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos' marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry.

With offices in 86 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.

Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of e1,669.5 ($2,218.4 million) in 2014.

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