Canadians don’t know much about Erin O’Toole but poll finds openness to him

OTTAWA – A new poll suggests most Canadians know very little about new Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole but his personal qualities and policy positions could eventually give his party a boost.

Fully 52 per cent of respondents said they didn’t know enough about O’Toole to say whether they have a positive or negative impression of the new leader, who took the helm of the Official Opposition one week ago.

Of those with an opinion, 21 per cent had a favourable impression while 18 per cent had an unfavourable impression.

Informed about various personal qualities — that O’Toole was born in Montreal, is bilingual and is a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces — a plurality of respondents said each attribute made them more likely to vote Conservative in the next election.

A plurality also said they’d be more likely to vote Conservative when informed that O’Toole is personally pro-choice, supports same-sex marriage, advocates a harder line against China, supports building new pipelines and is opposed to a carbon tax.

The fact that O’Toole was supported by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney during the leadership contest was the only negative, with a plurality saying that makes them less likely to vote Conservative.

The online survey of 1,521 Canadians was conducted Aug. 28 to 30 by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies; it cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based polls are not considered random samples.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 1, 2020.