Ontario Liberals poised to fall to third party status in next election: Poll

The Progressive Conservatives are headed towards a possible majority in the next provincial election, according to the latest Forum Research poll.

In a survey conducted among 1,120 Ontario voters, 44 percent said they would vote PC while 48 percent believe the Conservatives will win the election in 2018.

Twenty-four percent would cast their ballot for the NDP while 24 percent would back the governing Liberals.

The Liberals would not only lose their majority in the legislature but, based on the poll numbers, they would fall to third party status with just 11 seats.

Hydro rates and a lack of trust in government proving to be the anchor around the government’s neck. Five in 10 voters say those two issues are the determining factors in how they would vote if an election were held today.

The data shows a complete collapse in Liberal support across the province except in the 416, where it is a virtual dead heat between the Liberals and Conservatives.

The poll also finds that Premier Kathleen Wynne is at an all-time low in popularity with just 11 percent.

PC leader Patrick Brown also saw his approval rating slip to 20 percent with 57 percent of voters indicating they don’t know whether to approve or disapprove of him.

When it comes to the best choice of premier, 28 percent of respondents said they don’t approve of any of the three leaders. Brown and NDP’s Andrea Horwath were a statistical tie with 21 and 19 percent support, respectively. Wynne trails badly with just 9 percent support.

The telephone survey was conducted on February 15 and 16 and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent, 19 times out of 20.