Liberals in decline, PCs stagnant and NDP surging in latest Abacus poll

An online survey of 500 people in Newfoundland and Labrador suggests the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives are in a dead heat while the NDP is gaining ground in third place.

According to Abacus Data, if a provincial election wereright now, the Liberals would get 40 per cent of the vote, compared with 38 per cent for the Progressive Conservatives. Support for the NDPwas pegged at 21 per cent.

For the governing Liberals, thatwould be a loss of eight percentage points compared with the 2021 provincial election. The PCs would be a single point down, while the NDP would have gained 13 percentage points.

The pollhad a 4.5 per cent margin of error 19 out of 20 times.

Public opinion on all three party leaders has gone up since the last Abacus poll, with NDP Leader Jim Dinn gaining the most ground a 17-point increase.

Nearly half of PC voters unsure on new leader

Among those who said they'd vote PC in the next election, 48 per cent said they were unsure whom they would pick for leader.

The party is in the midst of a leadership campaign, with Eugene Manning, Tony Wakeham and Lloyd Parrott in contention.

Of those who have made up their minds, 29 per cent would choose Wakeham, 16 per cent would chooseManning and seven per cent would select Parrott.

Among PC supporters, 29 per cent said they were following the leadership campaign. Among the rest of respondents, that number was 21 per cent.

What issues are most important?

Eighty-four per cent of respondents said the cost of living was one of their three biggest concerns. The next biggest issues werehealth care, at 74 per cent, and housing affordability, at 43 per cent.

When asked how the provincial governmentwas reacting to key issues, "poor" outweighed "good" in all six categories.

For example, 78 per cent of respondents said the government was doing a poor job responding to the rising cost of living, and 67 per cent gave the province a poor rating on health care.

The survey also suggested more than three-quarters ofNewfoundlandersand Labradorians are living paycheque to paycheque.

Only 23 per cent said they are able to save money each month.

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