More than half of Ontarians can't identify Patrick Brown, Andrea Horwath: poll

More than half of Ontarians cannot name the person most public-opinion surveys suggest will be their next premier, according to a new poll.

That would be Patrick Brown, whose Ontario Progressive Conservatives boast a healthy 14-point lead over the governing Liberals in the Mainstreet Research poll, released Monday and provided exclusively to QP Briefing, despite 52 per cent of Ontarians not being able to accurately identify the leader.

Of the 2,000 people surveyed, 48 per cent answered correctly when asked to identify the leader of the Ontario PCs, 44 per cent said they did not know, 7 per cent answered incorrectly and one per cent could not say but were able to identify Brown’s characteristics.

Some people thought former Tory leader Tim Hudak was still at the helm, while others incorrectly named ex-interim federal Conservative leader Rona Ambrose or one of the past contenders for the federal leadership.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath isn’t exactly a household name either — only less than half, 44 per cent, could correctly name the captain of the third party, with as much as 7 per cent choosing federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair or one of those currently in contention to replace him. Others had trouble pronouncing Horwath’s last name, or could only name the fact that the leader hails from Hamilton, Ont.

Most — 78 per cent — are familiar with Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne, though 13 per cent of respondents confused her with someone else entirely, most commonly Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with some picking former Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion. At least one person identified the premier as “Catherine Wynne,” though Mainstreet accepted such responses.

“When we asked people to identify the leaders of Ontario's political parties, Wynne fared much better than Brown or Horwath,” said Quito Maggi, president of Mainstreet Research, in a release.

The political parties yielded a different response.

Among decided and leaning voters, 43 per cent said they would cast their ballots for the PCs if an election were held today, 29 per cent would support the Liberals, 24 per cent would opt for the New Democrats and 5 per cent would vote for the Green Party. Twenty per cent of voters remain undecided.

The findings follow a string of surveys that show the Liberals lagging behind the Tories — but after announcing a slew of sweeping policies, including pharmacare for those under 25, a basic-income pilot, lower hydro bills, a housing affordability package and a $15-minimum wage by 2019, it seems the Grits may be poised for a rebound less than a year out from the next general election, scheduled for June 7, 2018.

A Forum Research poll earlier this month suggested the Grits are sitting neck-and-neck with the Tories in their stronghold of Toronto, while a Campaign Research survey in May showed 37 per cent of Ontarians would cast their ballots for the Liberals if an election were held today, with 34 per cent supporting the PCs and 22 per cent backing the NDP.

Mainstreet surveyed 2,000 people through landlines and cellphones from May 23 to May 25. The poll is considered accurate within 2.19 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The poll also suggested the majority of Ontarians oppose the Liberal government's cap-and-trade program.

Pictured above, from left to right: Patrick Brown, Andrea Horwath, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.

To contact the reporter on this story: 
snanji@qpbriefing.com
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Twitter: @sabrinananji