As Parliament returns, support for Trudeau at ‘new low’: poll

As the House of Commons gets back to business for the fall session, support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government has hit a “new low,” new polling shows.

Just over one-third of Canadians (33 per cent) approve of the Trudeau government, according to an Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News and released on Monday. That approval rating is down by four points since the last time Ipsos did a similar poll in June.

Darrell Bricker, global CEO of Ipsos public affairs, said it’s not just the government message that’s unappealing to voters but the messenger himself, meaning Trudeau.

“What we’ve heard from the government is that they were going to try and improve their popularity and their level of approval over the course of the summer, and that clearly hasn’t happened,” Bricker said in an interview with Global News.

“In fact, the numbers have gone in quite the opposite direction, we’ve seen, since June,” he said.

Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has led in the polls for more than a year, was favoured by 45 per cent of Canadians surveyed by Ipsos, who said he would make the “best prime minister of Canada.”

Fewer Canadians felt that way about the incumbent leader, however, with just 26 per cent saying Trudeau was their top pick for PM. New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh was not far behind with the support of 23 per cent of Canadians.

Nationally, only six per cent chose Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet.

The poll comes as MPs return to the House of Commons on Monday in a significantly changed political landscape, particularly after the New Democrats pulled out of a supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals.

Bricker said given the Liberals’ declining support shown