New poll sheds light on issues most important to voters

The climate crisis is a priority for 18 per cent of Canadians, however here in Atlantic Canada, health care comes out on top

HALIFAXtoday \  Stephen Wentzell

A new poll from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute is casting light on the issues most important to voters heading into the Sept. 20 federal election.

When asked to pick the one issue they cared about the most, one in five respondents (18 per cent) chose the climate crisis. Of those, 41 per cent of respondents say they’ll vote Liberal, while 36 per cent plan to vote NDP. Just 6 per cent of respondents who prioritized the climate crisis said they would vote for Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives.

Health care and the amount of taxes paid got 13 per cent each nationally, however here in Atlantic Canada, 22 per cent chose access to health care, followed by climate change at 16 per cent, affordable housing at 13 per cent, transparency and honesty at 11 per cent and COVID-19 at 10 per cent.

Overall, three out of five Canadians who chose the pandemic as their top election issue are planning to vote Liberal. The Trudeau Liberals are also polling ahead with voters most concerned about health care, giving the party an 11-point advantage in that part of the poll.

Erin O’Toole is popular with those whose top issue is taxes, with 50 per cent saying they support the Conservatives.

Respondents were also asked how much they cared about a list of issues and transparency and honesty in the federal government came out on top, with three-quarters of Canadians saying they care about it personally. That was followed by health care, taxes and COVID-19.

Full results of the survey can be found here.

The online survey was conducted from Aug. 20-23 among a representative randomized sample of 1,692 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum.