MQO Research’s quarterly poll of 600 residents of Nova Scotia gauged the political temperature in the province for this January edition of the quarterly political poll: Atlantic Matters.
Provincial Politics
According to the latest polling numbers, support for the Liberal party held steady this quarter after dipping slightly in October.
- The undecided/don’t know group remains high at 30% of all voters.
- Current Liberal support in the province from decided and leaning voters sits at 58% this quarter.
- PC support held steady in January at 21%.
- NDP support stayed at 18% remaining below the level of support they received in the 2013 election when the NDP garnered 26.8% of the popular vote.
Government Performance
Ratings of Premier Stephen McNeil’s leadership continue to hold steady with a mean rating of 5.1 (on a scale of 1-10).
Provincial Outlook
The public’s feelings about the provincial outlook exhibited little change over the past quarter. Approximately 34% of voters continue to feel the province’s outlook is worse or a lot worse than it was in the recent past.
Personal Wellbeing
While feelings about the provincial outlook remain unchanged again this quarter, there are some indications that people are feeling better about their cost of living. In January, 48% rated their level of concern about their cost of living at 8 or higher (on a scale of 1-10), which was down from 55% in October.
The Atlantic Matters poll was conducted by telephone from January 13 to January 15, 2017 and included 600 randomly selected eligible voters from across the province. The margin of error for the survey is ±4.0 percentage points 19 times out of 20. Among decided and leaning voters, the margin of error is ±5.2 percentage points 19 out of 20 times.
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.
MQO is part of Group m5, the largest communications organization in Eastern Canada. The Group m5 family of brands includes m5 Marketing Communications, m5 Public Affairs, MQO Research, Wavelight Productions and Impress Design.
For more information on Atlantic Matters or MQO Research, contact:
Rick Emberley, Senior Counsel
[email protected]
Phone 902-465-3154
Cell 902-456-9268