MQO Research spoke with 600 residents of Nova Scotia to gauge the political temperature in the province for the October edition of our quarterly political poll: Atlantic Matters.
Provincial Politics
According to the latest polling numbers, support for all political parties held relatively steady in October. Among decided and leaning voters:
- Current Liberal support in the province held steady at 44%.
- PC Party support held steady at 32%.
- NDP support also held steady at 19%.
- Support for the Green Party exhibited little change this quarter at 4%.
- The undecided / no vote group was also relatively unchanged at 35%.
Government Performance
Ratings for the leadership of Premier Stephen McNeil edged down slightly this quarter with a mean score of 4.9 (compared to 5.2 in July 2017).
Provincial Outlook
Nova Scotia residents’ were more pessimistic about the economic outlook for the province in October. 28% said the general outlook in Nova Scotia has been getting worse over the past three months which was up from 23% in July.
Federal Politics
Federally, the Conservatives gained ground this quarter in Nova Scotia at the expense of the governing Liberals. Among decided and leaning voters:
- Liberal support dropped 5 percentage points to 54%.
- Conservative support was up 7 percentage points to 29%.
- NDP support held steady at 14%.
- Support for the Green Party exhibited little change at 3%.
- Ratings of government performance under Justin Trudeau trended down slightly with a mean score of 5.6 (5.9 in April).
The Atlantic Matters poll was conducted by telephone from Oct. 6 to Oct. 18, 2017 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 for the survey is ± 5.0 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