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Ontario, Jan 26
The sudden resignation of Patrick Brown amid allegations of sexual misconduct has not dented the popularity of the Ontario Progressive Conservative party, according to a new poll from Forum Research.
The poll of 751 randomly selected voters was conducted on Thursday, just hours after an early-morning statement from Brown resigning as party leader.
The poll found that the Tories still have the support of 42 per cent of decided or leaning voters compared to 27 per cent for the Liberals, 23 per cent for the NDP and 6 per cent for the Green Party.
The percentage of decided or leaning voters indicating they would vote for the Tories in the spring election was only down one point from a poll conducted two weeks ago and three points from the high-water mark recorded by the Tories in October (45 per cent).
“That the numbers for the Progressive Conservatives haven’t changed much suggests that most supporters were behind the party, and not the leader,” Forum Research President Lorne Bozinoff said in a press release. “There may be an element of cognitive dissonance in that because supporters see Brown doing the right thing, their support for the PCs is strengthened.”
Most voters are aware of allegations
The poll found that 82 per cent of respondents were aware of the allegations against Brown.
Among those aware of the allegations, 36 per cent said they would not affect their vote while 22 per cent said that the allegations would actually make them more likely to vote for a Progressive Conservative candidate in the upcoming election. Meanwhile, about 15 per cent of respondents said that the allegations would make them more likely to vote for a Liberal candidate and 12 per cent said the allegations would make them more likely to vote for a NDP candidate.
About 14 per cent of respondents said that they weren’t sure what effect the scandal would have on their vote.
Ontarians split on who should be leader
The poll also asked respondents for their choice for the next leader of the Progressive Conservative party; however there was no clear consensus that emerged.
Christine Elliot, who was the runner up in the last leadership race, had the support of 12 per cent of respondents, while Doug Ford had the support of 11 per cent of respondents.
The Progressive Conservative party caucus is meeting this morning to choose an interim leader, though it is not clear whether that person will lead the party into the next provincial election.
The poll is considered accurate to within four percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
