The Head vs. the Heart: In campaign’s 2nd week, O’Toole is voters’ intellectual choice, shares ‘gut’ preference with Singh Trudeau trails on both measures, but all main party leaders chosen by at least ¼ August 26, 2021 – In an election that Suppose you are relying on each... which may be decided by small segments of leader are you most attracted to? (n=1,692) moveable voters migrating between parties, leadership matters. 36% 31% 33% 29% 25% A new study from the non-profit Angus 23% Reid Institute finds that, while the Liberals continue to hang on to a small advantage in vote intent, party chief 8% 6% Justin Trudeau is neither the most 5% 4% attractive leader when voters consider their choice with their head, nor with Heart or gut choice Reason or intellect choice their heart. Erin O’Toole When asked who they would be most Justin Trudeau amenable to if they rely on their gut in this campaign, 23 per cent of Jagmeet Singh Canadians choose Trudeau, compared Yves-François Blanchet (QC Only) to the one-in-three (33%) who pick NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, or the three-in- Annamie Paul ten (31%) who opt for the CPC’s Erin O’Toole. METHODOLOGY: Further, 60 per cent of Liberal The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from Aug. 20- supporters say Trudeau is the most 23, 2021 among a representative randomized sample of 1,692 attractive leader for them if they rely on Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. For their gut, while nearly one-third of this comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would same base opt for Singh. carry a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. The By contrast, among their own survey was self-commissioned and paid for by ARI. Detailed tables respective voters, O’Toole (86%) and are found at the end of this release. Singh (88%) both generate far higher levels of support on this question. And what if potential voters relied on their reasoning and intellect? In this case, O’Toole garners the highest preference, chosen by 36 per cent of Canadians. Trudeau (29%) and Singh (25%) both receive significant support on this measure as well. This is not unfamiliar territory for Trudeau. In 2019, he trailed Conservative opponent Andrew Scheer as the choice for both voters’ hearts and minds but still ended up with a minority government despite narrowly losing the popular vote. CONTACT: Shachi Kurl, President: 604.908.1693 [email protected] @shachikurl Dave Korzinski, Research Director: 250.899.0821 [email protected] Page 2 of 9 More Key Findings: • Nearly all (95%) of those who say O’Toole is the choice of their heart also say he is their choice using reasoning and intellect. That’s only true for three-in-five (59%) of those who choose Singh. • Trudeau is not the top emotional choice in any region in the country and only the top intellectual choice in Quebec and Atlantic Canada. About ARI The Angus Reid Institute (ARI) was founded in October 2014 by pollster and sociologist, Dr. Angus Reid. ARI is a national, not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation established to advance education by commissioning, conducting and disseminating to the public accessible and impartial statistical data, research and policy analysis on economics, political science, philanthropy, public administration, domestic and international affairs and other socio-economic issues of importance to Canada and its world. INDEX Part One: What the heart wants Part Two: Relying on reason Part One: What the heart wants When Justin Trudeau burst on to the national scene in 2015, rising from a semi-distant third place in the earlier months of 2015 to form a majority government in the fall, there was a key factor in his support; uncommitted voters said he was their top choice if they voted with their hearts. This, alongside other important factors involving deficit spending and an unpopular long-time prime minister, helped to propel the Liberals to governance. In 2021, Trudeau is no longer the choice for Canadians who follow their heart in the ballot box. Now, just 23 per cent say they would prefer Trudeau if they used this calculus, placing him well behind both Jagmeet Singh (33%) and Erin O’Toole (31%): CONTACT: Shachi Kurl, President: 604.908.1693 [email protected] @shachikurl Dave Korzinski, Research Director: 250.899.0821 [email protected] Page 3 of 9 Suppose in this federal election, you are relying only on your gut or your heart. In that case, which of the main party leaders are you most attracted to? (All respondents, n=1,692) 33% 31% 23% 8% 5% Jagmeet Singh Erin O’Toole Justin Trudeau Yves-François Annamie Paul Blanchet (QC only) There is good news and bad news for each leader, depending on the prism through which they view these data. For Trudeau, this is not the first time he has been denied the top spot on this question. In 2019, due in large part to the appeal of then Green Party leader Elizabeth May, Trudeau trailed Andrew Scheer by seven points. Singh appears to have captured the hearts and minds of many of those who leaned Green last time around, while O’Toole is chosen by a near-identical proportion as his predecessor. If you were choosing with your heart or your gut – who is most appealing? (2019 vs. 2021) 33% 32% 31% 25% 23% 17% 14% 8% 5% 5% Trudeau - Scheer - Singh - NDP May - Blanchet - Trudeau - O'Toole - Singh - NDP Paul - Blanchet - LPC CPC Green BQ LPC CPC Green BQ 2019 (n=2,154) 2021 (n=1,692) The primary strength of both O’Toole and Singh early in this campaign is that their supporters are enthusiastic. Among those who currently say they will support the CPC, 86 per cent say O’Toole would be their preferred leader if emotional considerations were their guide. Close to the same number of NDP voters say the same of Singh. CONTACT: Shachi Kurl, President: 604.908.1693 [email protected] @shachikurl Dave Korzinski, Research Director: 250.899.0821 [email protected] Page 4 of 9 Related: Latest federal politics vote intention poll While a majority of current Liberal voters say their heart prefers Trudeau, a significant segment are more attracted by another leader. For 29 per cent, that leader is Singh: Suppose in this federal election, you are relying only on your gut or your heart. In that case, which of the main party leaders are you most attracted to? 5% 5% 8% 9% 3% 3% 29% 33% 88% 87% 23% 86% 60% 31% 6% 7% CPC Liberal NDP BQ (n=496) (n=519) (n=345) (n=113) Total Vote Intent (n=1,692) Erin O’Toole Justin Trudeau Jagmeet Singh Yves-François Blanchet Annamie Paul Trudeau is not chosen first in any region of the country on this measure of leader attractiveness. O’Toole is the clear preference for residents in Alberta and Saskatchewan, while Singh is preferred in B.C., Ontario, and Atlantic Canada. CONTACT: Shachi Kurl, President: 604.908.1693 [email protected] @shachikurl Dave Korzinski, Research Director: 250.899.0821 [email protected] Page 5 of 9 Suppose in this federal election, you are relying only on your gut or your heart. In that case, which of the main party leaders are you most attracted to? 8% 5% 7% 6% 5% 33% 30% 32% 38% 37% 33% 41% 44% 4% 9% 9% 13% 21% 27% 23% 19% 27% 55% 57% 25% 45% 31% 33% 31% 17% 26% BC (n=294) AB (n=158) SK (n=120) MB (n=113) ON (n=459) QC (n=395) ATL (n=150) Total (n=1,692) Region Erin O’Toole Justin Trudeau Jagmeet Singh Annamie Paul Yves-François Blanchet The same dynamic is true across age and gender combinations. Trudeau is in a three-way tie with Singh and O’Toole among older women (55+) on the leader that their instincts prefer, but leads among no group. Half of men over the age of 54 choose O’Toole on gut, while women overall tend to lean toward Singh, especially in younger age groups: Suppose in this federal election, you are relying only on your gut or your heart. In that case, which of the main party leaders are you most attracted to? 5% 6% 8% 4% 9% 12% 9% 5% 12% 3% 5% 4% 4% 33% 40% 30% 20% 41% 28% 16% 53% 23% 23% 20% 29% 27% 48% 15% 31% 31% 34% 29% 17% 23% 18-34 (n=184) 35-54 (n=297) 55+ (n=332) 18-34 (n=199) 35-54 (n=321) 55+ (n=359) Male Female Total (n=1,692) Age/Gender Erin O’Toole Justin Trudeau Jagmeet Singh Annamie Paul Yves-François Blanchet CONTACT: Shachi Kurl, President: 604.908.1693 [email protected] @shachikurl Dave Korzinski, Research Director: 250.899.0821 [email protected] Page 6 of 9 Part Two: Relying on reason Voters do not, however, just rely on their gut when they cast a ballot. And to the chagrin of many proportional representation proponents, strategic voting, too, enters their decision-making processes. When Canadians are asked which leader they would prefer if they were to rely only on their reasoning and intellect, the ordering of their choices changes. In this case, O’Toole emerges in the top spot, chosen by 36 per cent, while Trudeau is preferred by 29 per cent, and Singh by one-quarter (25%): Suppose in this federal election, you are relying only on your reasoning and intellectual considerations.