Doug Ford in ‘majority government territory’ as polls put him ahead of Ont. Liberals

Doug Ford’s government appears to be holding strong as early election speculation heats up across Ontario.

In a new poll released Thursday by Liaison Strategies, Ford’s Progressive Conservatives are beating Bonnie Crombie’s Liberals by 13 points.

The poll shows that Ford’s party has 40 per cent support, meanwhile the Liberals have 27 per cent support, the NDP have 21 per cent and the Greens are trailing with just six per cent.

“As early elections speculation continues, the Ford PCs are in a comfortable lead and would earn a majority government if the election were held today,” said David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies.

“The PCs are doing well in most of Ontario, though they are in a statistical tie for first in the North, Toronto and South Central. That being said, their Toronto numbers are an improvement from where we have found them in the past few months and they are leading in the 905,” he added.

Despite the positive poll numbers, 65 per cent of Ontarians say they have an “unfavourable” view of Doug Ford.

When it came to Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, 42 per cent of respondents said they have an unfavourable view of her.

As for NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Green leader Mike Schreiner, the poll indicates that most Ontarians did not yet have a clear opinion on either candidate.

Valentin says those numbers could change once an election is called, as more people will be paying attention to politics.