Doug Ford’s PCs have widened their lead over the Liberals to nearly 20 points as the Ontario election campaign comes to a close, survey results from CTV News’ official pollster Nanos Research show.
In a survey released on Wednesday night, Nanos said it interviewed 1,246 Ontarians on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26 and found that among decided voters, about 47.5 per cent said they planned to vote for the PCs, compared to 29 per cent for the Liberals. About 15.7 per cent said they support the NDP and 4.7 per cent said they support the Green Party.
Among both decided and undecided voters, 43.2 per cent said they support the PCs, 26.4 per cent said they would vote Liberal, 14.3 per cent said they would back the NDP, 4.2 per cent said they would vote for the Green Party, 2.9 per cent selected “other,” and 8.9 per cent said they were “undecided.”
The survey marks a notable shift in the city of Toronto, where nightly tracking previously showed the Liberals in the lead. According to Nanos, 42.2 per cent of decided respondents now say they would support the PC Party, compared to 34.4 per cent who said they would vote for the Liberals, and 19.6 per cent who said they support the NDP. About 2.6 per cent decided voters in Toronto said they support the Green Party.
Premier Doug Ford remains the top pick for premier. About 42.7 per cent of respondents said the PC leader was their top choice to lead the province, while 25.2 per cent selected Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie. About 13.7 per cent said NDP Leader Marit Stiles would be the best candidate for premier, while 6.4 per cent selected Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.
There has been little movement in the numbers since Nanos began nightly tracking at the beginning of February. The PCs have maintained a double-digit lead over the second-place Liberals throughout the campaign, according to the survey results.
The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
