Growing Number of Canadians Believe Trudeau Government is More Style than Substance (67%, +8 Points)

Toronto, ON - As the political year winds to a close, a growing number of Canadians believe that the government is more style than substance, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News. Despite this growing feeling, Trudeau's approval rating remains strong, although it has softened slightly since the government's one-year anniversary.

Overall, two in three (67%) Canadians `agree' (24% strongly/43% somewhat) that `the Trudeau government is more style and substance', up 8 points since the government's one-year anniversary, while one in three (33%) `disagree' (8% strongly/25% somewhat) that it is, down 8 points.

Trudeau and the government have been plagued by gaffes and missteps in the last few months, which might suggest that the lustre has finally begun to fade. However, the government's popularity has largely endured, despite these incidents:

• Six in ten (61%) `approve' (13% strongly/49% somewhat) of the performance of the Liberal Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, down just 3 points since October. Conversely, four in ten (39%) `disapprove' (17% strongly/21% somewhat), up 3 points.
• Six in ten (59%) `agree' (13% strongly/46% somewhat) that the Liberal majority government in Ottawa is working well for Canada, unchanged, while four in ten (41%) `disagree' (17% strongly/24% somewhat).
• A majority (54%) `approve' (9% strongly/45% somewhat) of the federal government's management of the Canadian economy, down 4 points, while a minority (46%) `disagrees' (18% strongly/28% somewhat), up 4 points.
• A similar proportion (54%) `agrees' (11% strongly/44% somewhat) that the Trudeau government has a clear plan for the future of Canada, down 1 point, while a minority (46%) `disagrees' (18% strongly/28% somewhat) that it has a clear plan, up 1 point.

As an overall assessment of the government, a majority of Canadians continue to say that the Trudeau government has met (50%, +3), or exceeded (6%, -5) their expectations. But there is a significant increase in the proportion (45%, +4) of Canadians who say that the government has fallen short of their expectations.

160Canadians Say Economy (50%) Should be Focus for Government in 2017...

Fully one half (50%) of Canadians say that the economy is the single most important thing that Justin Trudeau and the Liberals should focus on in 2017, from among a list of 9 possible areas that Global News has been following closely, making it by far the most popular response. Other items that Canadians believe should be the primary focus of the government include: ensuring that Canada is safe and secure (18%), the legalization of marijuana and how it will work (7%), addressing the First Nations suicide crisis (5%), establishing a good relationship with Donald Trump (5%), implementing a carbon tax to help protect the environment (4%), electoral reform (3%), addressing the Fentanyl problem in Canada (3%) or some other (6%) priority.

Four in ten (42%) Canadians Approve of their Provincial Government

Four in ten (42%) Canadians say that they approve (7% strongly/35% somewhat) of the performance of the provincial government under their current premier, suggesting that provincial governments are, on the whole, having a rough ride compared to the still high-flying Trudeau government.

Approval ratings are highest in Saskatchewan and Manitoba collectively (57%), Atlantic Canada (54%) and British Columbia (52%), followed by Quebec (44%), Alberta (37%) and, finally, Ontario (33%).

160These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between December 15 and 19, 2016, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 2,003 Canadians from Ipsos' online panel was interviewed online. Weighting160was then160employed 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.160 In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults 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:

Sean Simpson
Vice President
(416) 324-2002
Ipsos Public Affairs
[email protected]

About Ipsos

Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry. With a strong presence in 87 countries, Ipsos employs more than 16,000 people and has the ability to conduct research programs in more than 100 countries. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is controlled and managed by research professionals. They have built a solid Group around a multi-specialist positioning-- Media and advertising research; Marketing research; Client and employee relationship management; Opinion & social research; Mobile, Online, Offline data collection and delivery. Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999. www.ipsos.com