OTTAWA — The Liberals have kept up their lead when it comes to which party Canadians trust to manage the economy, according to a new The Logic poll by Abacus Data, the last in a series of surveys on economic priorities before election day.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, remain competitive on the issue of affordability and are still viewed as the best placed to keep taxes low.

David Coletto, CEO of Abacus, suggested voters are now making up their minds as they get ready to cast their ballots on Monday. “The debates and any discussion over the long weekend don’t seem to have changed people’s impressions on this question,” he wrote in an email. “If anything, the debates likely reinforced how people were feeling.”

Forty-four per cent of survey respondents said they most trusted the Liberals led by Mark Carney to steer Canada’s economy, while 35 per cent chose the Conservatives led by Pierre Poilievre. Jagmeet Singh’s New Democrats were the choice for six per cent of respondents, three per cent chose the Bloc Québécois and one per cent most trusted the Green Party.

Few changes

The result represents just a one-point increase for the Liberals and no change for the Conservatives since last week. Yet the Liberals have come a long way since Abacus began asking this question for The Logic in October as part of a series of polls to get a sense of how Canadians feel the federal political parties are addressing the economic issues they view as most important.

Back then the Liberals under former prime minister Justin Trudeau had just 18 per cent of respondents saying they were most trusted to handle the economy. The Conservatives were at 37 per cent. The Liberals first took the lead last month. 

There was a similar lack of movement in the latest poll on the question of who is best able to deal with the effects of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Carney was the choice of 47 per cent of respondents, the same as last week, while 31 per cent chose Poilievre, down two points. Five per cent chose Singh, while 16 per cent were unsure.

The survey was conducted from Friday to Sunday, meaning responses could only be partially influenced by costed platforms the parties have made public over the course of the last five days. The Liberals and the NDP released theirs on Saturday, while the Conservatives shared their plan on Tuesday, after the survey was finished.

Carney has ‘reset the opinion landscape’

The survey also showed Carney ahead on another question about Trump, with 46 per cent saying he is best able to protect Canada’s interests in the trade war, compared to 34 per cent for Poilievre. Carney also beat Poilievre on developing infrastructure to support economic growth and job creation (40 to 36 per cent); increasing the global competitiveness of the Canadian economy (44 to 35 per cent); and driving growth through promoting innovation and technology development (40 to 34 per cent). Carney is at 36 per cent on who is seen as able to create secure and well-paying jobs, one point ahead of Poilievre.

The edge still goes to Poilievre on the question of who would keep taxes as low as possible, with 41 per cent choosing the Conservative leader and 29 per cent saying Carney. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents also said Poilievre is best suited to make sure the immigration system supports economic growth, three points ahead of Carney.

There are three issues on which the Liberal and Conservatives are now tied: promoting competition among different industries (37 per cent); managing the federal deficit and national debt (38 per cent); and inflation and affordability (37 per cent). That last one is notable, given Poilievre had dominated the Liberals on that issue before Trudeau left.

“It shows how much Mark Carney has reset the opinion landscape,” Coletto said. “These were all major liabilities for the Trudeau Liberals and Carney and his campaign have neutralized those issues.”