Shomporko Desk:-TORONTO – Despite approaching dangers of a snap election this fall following the We Charity issue, most Canadians aren’t keen on heading to the polls during the pandemic, according to a new Nanos Research survey.
The survey, released Friday, requested 1,094 Canadians whether they concurred with the possibility that the Liberal government and opposition parties ought to do all that they can to make the minority Parliament work, to avoid an election until the pandemic has considerably passed or a vaccine is available.
Fifty-one per cent of respondents concurred that an election ought to be dodged, with another 20 per cent saying they somewhat agreed. Eighteen per cent dissented, with 10 per cent saying they fairly oppose this idea. Two per cent were unsure.
The Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois have called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau to resign following the We Charity controversy, saying that their apologies for not excusing themselves from cabinet discussions regarding the $900-million contract due to their relationships with the charity aren’t good enough.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said last week that if Trudeau and Morneau don’t step down, his party plans to consult Quebecers about possibly tabling a motion of non-confidence when the House of Commons resumes in late September.
If a non-confidence vote is tabled and the Liberals lose, a federal election would be triggered.
The latest ballot tracking by Nanos Research has the Liberal Party of Canada three percentage points ahead of the Conservatives, although Trudeau still enjoys a wide lead as preferred prime minister at 33.8 per cent over outgoing Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer (18.8 per cent), NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh (14 per cent), Green Leader Elizabeth May (6.9 per cent) and People’s Party Leader Maxime Bernier (4.7 per cent).
Forty per cent of respondents said they want Parliament to investigate the matter fully, while 28 per cent said Parliament should instead focus on “more important matters.” Sixteen per cent said Trudeau should temporarily step down during the investigation, while 13 per cent agreed with the statement: “This is how politics works, I’m not surprised.”
On Thursday, Trudeau told MPs during a rare parliamentary committee appearance that he did not place himself in a conflict of interest during his involvement in cabinet discussions regarding the $900-million contract for the student volunteer grant program. Trudeau also denied any direction or attempt to influence him or his office during the discussions.
As for how the $900-million government contract should’ve been handled, 42 per cent of respondents said they preferred a competition that would have students wait longer for financial support, with 34 per cent saying it was OK to sole-source the contract to speed up the process. Twenty-four per cent of respondents said they were unsure.
Photo credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/FILE
News source: CTV News
