Governing Liberals Widen Lead in NB

MQO Research spoke with 600 residents of New Brunswick to gauge the political temperature in the province for the January edition of our quarterly political poll: Atlantic Matters.

Provincial Politics

According to the latest polling numbers, the governing Liberals widened their lead over the PC Party in January. Among decided and leaning voters:

  • Current Liberal support increased 5 percentage points to 46%.
  • PC Party support was relatively unchanged at 37%.
  • NDP support decreased by 7 percentage points to 5%.
  • Support for the Green Party exhibited little change this quarter at 9%.
  • The undecided / no vote group held steady at 45% this quarter.

Government Performance

Ratings for the leadership of Premier Brian Gallant held steady this quarter with a mean score of 5.1 (on a 10-point scale).

Provincial Outlook

The economic outlook for the province improved slightly in January. 28% of New Brunswick residents reported that their outlook on the economy had worsened over the past three months, down from 35% in October. 55% indicated their outlook had stayed the same, up from 50% while the percentage who felt things had gotten better held steady at 13%.

Consumer Confidence

Consumer confidence also showed signs of improvement this quarter. 41% expressed a high level of concern with the cost of living, down from 51% a year ago. Additionally, the percentage feeling highly secure in their current employment increased 7 percentage points to 66% compared to January of last year.

The Atlantic Matters poll was conducted by telephone from Jan. 18th to Jan. 25th, 2018 and included 600 randomly selected eligible voters from across the province. The margin of error for the total sample is ± 4.0 percentage points 19 times out of 20. Among decided and leaning voters, the margin of error is ± 5.3 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

About MQO Research

MQO Research is one of Atlantic Canada’s leading market research firms, providing research insights to clients throughout the region and beyond. Our team includes experts in quantitative and qualitative methodologies and program evaluation. MQO is a Gold Seal member of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA) and as such subscribes to the highest standards of information gathering and research ethics in the industry in Canada.

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For more information on Atlantic Matters or MQO Research, contact:

Tracey Stephenson
[email protected]
Phone: 506-852-7281
Cell: 506-850-8077

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