Over half of Canadians don’t want an early election: Ipsos poll

A small majority of Canadians want opposition parties to work together with the Liberals rather than trigger an early election, a new poll suggests, despite persistent low approval for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News between Sept. 6 and 10, released Wednesday, surveyed Canadians’ thoughts on the new political reality after the NDP withdrew from the supply-and-confidence agreement that ensured the Liberals would remain in power until next fall.

The end of the deal makes the prospect of an earlier election more likely, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh acknowledged after he “ripped up” the deal last week, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is urging his fellow opposition leaders to quickly topple the government after the House of Commons returns on Monday.

But Ipsos found 56 per cent of Canadians surveyed don’t want that election just yet, saying they want all parties to try and work with the government on a case-by-case basis.

Only in Alberta and Saskatchewan did a majority of respondents say they want the opposition to defeat the government “at the earliest opportunity.”

Singh has said he will approach all votes in the House of Commons on a case-by-case basis and has refused to say definitely if he will support a motion of non-confidence if one arises.

He said Wednesday he’s “not going to listen to” Poilievre after the Conservative leader pledged to bring a motion of non-confidence “at the earliest opportunity” and challenged Singh to vote with him in favour.

Despite not clamoring for an election, the same poll found Canadians remain sour on Trudeau and the Liberals. Just 28 per cent of those surveyed nationally said Trudeau deserves re-election, a figure that is consistent