CRA poll: Tories lose in satisfaction, Liberals solidify lead

Voter satisfaction with Newfoundland and Labrador's governing Tories has taken a slide, although the party nonetheless made a small gain in voter intention.

However, the latest Corporate Research Associates tracking poll the first since Paul Davis became premier in September shows that Dwight Ball's Liberals have a two-to-one advantage over the PCs.

In a poll released Monday, CRA said that 60 per cent of respondents would vote Liberal if an election were held now. That's up from 58 per cent in a poll released three months ago.

The Tories had the support of 29 per cent of decided voters, up from 26 per cent in a poll take in August.

Gains for both parties came at the expense of Lorraine Michael's New Democrats. NDP support was down a full third, from 15 per cent to 10 per cent.

CRA found a troubling point for the Tories, particularly in the wake of the party settling a long-running question over its leadership.

Satisfaction with the government's performance dropped from 62 per cent to 50 per cent.

Ball leads pack among leaders

Liberal Leader Dwight Ball, meanwhile, strengthened his top position among the three party leaders. About 46 per cent of respondents picked him as the best choice to be premier, up from 40 per cent three months ago.

By comparison, Davis'support was 26 per cent, down marginally from the 28 per cent that former premier Tom Marshall had in the last CRA survey.

Michael's support dropped from 13 to nine per cent.

The rest of respondents either had no preference or refused to say.

This was the sixth straight poll where the Liberals have led the political pack in Newfoundland and Labrador. The party has been in the prime position since September 2013.

The poll also shows how support for the NDP has crumbled in the same time.

The NDP had effectively tied for top place in two earlier polls in 2013with its support peaking in winter 2013. Last year, the party was rocked by a caucus implosion that saw two members defect and ultimately choose tosit in the Liberal caucus.

CRA surveyed 800 adults between Nov. 5 and Nov. 30. The margin area for that sample size is 3.5 per cent, although some of the questions that CRA asked had a smaller sample and thus a wider margin of error.