Quebecers are less than impressed with all party leaders, poll suggests

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Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Francois Legault, the perceived frontrunner in the Quebec election campaign, is viewed unfavourably by more than half of province’s electorate, a new survey suggests.

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A total of 55 per cent of the 1,221 respondents in an online poll by Angus-Reid viewed the the Coalition Avenir Québec leader unfavourably or very unfavourably, while Parti Québecois Leader Paul St. Pierre Plamondon’s negatives stood at 42 per cent and Québec solidaire spokespersons Manon Massé and Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois were perceived unfavourably by 49 per cent of respondents.

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Quebec Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade and Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime tied as the least popular party leaders, each polling 66 per cent in unfavourable or very unfavourable impressions.

The survey was conducted Sept. 19-22. The polling period closed the same day as the televised Radio-Canada leaders debate. The CAQ continued to lead in voting intentions at 34 per cent (three points less than the level of support recorded in the last Léger Marketing poll), followed by the Quebec Conservative Party at 19 per cent, Québec solidaire and the Quebec Liberals at 16 per cent each and the Parti Québécois at 12 per cent.

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Overall, the lack of enthusiasm in the five party leaders expressed by respondents was echoed in several other issues examined by the poll, with 44 per cent saying Quebec was on the wrong track compared with 36 per cent who said the province is heading in the right direction. A total of 20 per cent of respondents meanwhile were unsure of how to answer the question.

Health care was by far (61 per cent) perceived by respondents as the top election issue, with climate change and the economy coming in a distant second (29 per cent). The issue of language polled at 20 per cent. A separate examination of language-rights issued based on the language of the respondent found the issue was important to 54 per cent of anglophones compared with just seven per cent of francophones.

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Despite the attention it has received over the past few months, the province-wide labour shortage was deemed an important election issue by just 16 per cent of respondents, while only 11 per cent felt immigration was a major factor in the election campaign.

Legault was perceived as best suited to lead when it came to health care (29 per cent), yet the second-largest proportion of respondents (20 per cent) answered that none of the leaders were capable of dealing with the issue.

The same phenomenon was exhibited on the issue of climate change, with 30 per cent saying Québec solidaire was best suited to lead on the issue, followed by 21 per cent who said none of the parties were capable of dealing with the environment.

While the Quebec Liberals have touted themselves as being the party best equipped to lead on the economy, only 15 per cent of respondents agreed with that assessment while 40 per cent gave the nod to Legault, followed by 17 per cent for Duhaime.