Poll: 58 per cent of Ontarians think Wynne should resign

Ontario : Support for Ontario’s premier appears to have taken a dive, according to a new poll released this week.

The new Mainstreet/ Postmedia poll, which surveyed 2,524 Ontario residents, found that 58 per cent of voters believe Premier Kathleen Wynne should resign.

“With the next Ontario election just a little more than 18 months away, Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario Liberals continue to plumb new depths as they now trail both the Patrick Brown led PCs and the Andrea Horwath led NDP,” Quito Maggi, president of Mainstreet Research, said in a written statement accompanying the poll.

Maggi added that Wynne’s approval rating is now just 15 per cent.

“There is very little good news for the current government and it may get worse as the effects of the recent charges against Ontario Liberal Party staff and operatives continue to dominate headlines,” he said.

The poll found that 53 per cent of respondents said they believe Wynne may have been involved in the bribery scandal.

“The really bad news is, there are two current by-elections underway that may also be affected by the latest scandal. Niagara West Glanbrook was vacated by former PC leader Tim Hudak and is likely to be held by the PCs with the likeliest competition coming from the NDP who hold nearby Niagara Falls. In Ottawa-Vanier, a close contest in a Liberal fortress riding could point to the beginning of the end for the 13-year incumbent Ontario Liberal Government. A loss in Ottawa-Vanier would be unthinkable, and could prompt an early exit by the embattled Premier,” Maggi said.

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath continues to enjoy the strongest support among party leaders with a 59 per cent approval rating. Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown is not far behind Horwath with an approval of 51 per cent.

“As Kathleen Wynne’s fortunes fall, left and centre left voters across Ontario are turning to Horwath. Her high approvals have now started to register on the voter intentions as the NDP now has the support of 27 (per cent) among decided and leaning voters across Ontario compared to 25 (per cent) for the Wynne led Liberals,” Maggi said.

Ontario PCs still lead in Ontario with 43 per cent support among decided and leaning voters.

One positive for the Liberals, Maggi adds, is that the party continues to lead in downtown Toronto when it comes to decided and leaning voters. According to the poll, 35 per cent of those in the 416 support the Liberals, 31 per cent support the PCs and 27 per cent support the NDP.

“The rest of the numbers point to a possible wipeout in the 905, South Central and Southwest with divided fortunes in Eastern and Northern Ontario,” Maggi noted.

The poll, which was conducted on Nov. 2, 2016, is considered accurate plus or minue 1.95 per cent, 19 times out of 20.