‘This is a very different Ontario race than the one we saw in July,’ said Liaison Strategies’ David Valentin
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OTTAWA — Telling the president of the United States to “kiss his ass” has Ontario’s premier sitting pretty in the polls.
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New numbers released Wednesday by Liaison Strategies have Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford retaking the lead from the leaderless Ontario Liberals, leading by four points among decided and leaning voters.
“This is a very different Ontario race than the one we saw in July,” Liaison’s David Valentin said
“The PCs are up 6 points to 39% among decided and leaning voters, while the Liberals are down 3 points to 35% and the NDP is down 4 points to 20%.”
The fiery rhetoric between the two leaders — which saw Ford tell Donald Trump to “kiss his ass” during a live radio interview — added more drama to the ongoing trade war being waged against Canada by the White House.
Ford’s comments got the attention of the U.S. president, who took to social media to accuse Ford of being “the less charismatic, intelligent and overall unimpressive brother of the late, great, Rob Ford.”
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Later on Monday, during a press conference in Hamilton, Ford fired back, calling Trump a “loser,” “dictator,” and “king of bankruptcies.”
Trump, Ford tensions nothing new
Friction between the two leaders kicked off last October, when the Ontario government launched a $75-million pro free trade ad campaign featuring a speech by former U.S. president Ronald Reagan, which aired on American TV during the MLB playoffs and World Series telecasts.
The ads clearly triggered Trump, who abruptly terminated trade talks with Canada and tacked on an additional 10% tariff on Canadian imports.
“This poll was in field right as the latest U.S. tariffs took effect and as Ford and Trump turned the fight into something personal,” Valentin said.
“Whether voters like Ford in general or not, this is the kind of issue that can temporarily change the frame around a premier.”
Indeed, Ford’s approval rating is likewise seeing a bump.
Not all approve of Ford’s work
“The PCs have reclaimed the lead, but that should not be mistaken for a clean bill of political health for Ford,” Valentin said.
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“His approval has improved sharply, from 24% in July to 36% now, but 61% still disapprove of the job he is doing as Premier.”
Ford, Valentin said, emerges far less damaged than he was a month ago, but is still deeply underwater.
“The party is in a better place than the premier personally,” Valentin said.
Conversely, only 27% of those polled say Ontario is heading in the right direction, compared to 72% who say it’s heading in the wrong direction.
“That is basically unchanged from July, so the Ford rebound is happening inside a province that remains very unhappy with the overall direction of things,” Valentin said.
What poll found about retaliation tariffs
In the poll, Ontarians appear to foster broad support for many of the retaliation options Ford supports.
Matching tariffs dollar-for-dollar garnered 83% support from respondents, and 85% of those polled support Ontario banning the sale of American alcohol.
As well, 72% support Ontario continuing electricity exports to the U.S., but subject to additional levies.
The poll was conducted from a random sample of 1,500 Ontario citizens Aug. 23 and 24, with a margin-of-error of ±2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume
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