Canadians sharply divided on Trudeau's performance as prime minister

Canadians are starkly divided on Justin Trudeau’s four-and-a-half years as prime minister, a new survey has found.

A plurality of those polled – 41% – think Trudeau has accomplished “little” during his time in office.

But the Research Co study found 48% of Canadians think the prime minister’s performance has been “about the same” as they expected it to be.

About a quarter of those asked – 24% – said Trudeau has been “better” than they thought he’d be, while 25% think he’s been “worse.”

There are noticeable differences between the generations, however.

“More than a third of Canadians aged 55 and over (36%) believe Trudeau has been worse than they expected,” said Mario Canseco, president of Research Co.

“Significantly fewer Canadians aged 35-to-54 (21%) and 18-to-34 (18%) feel the same way.”

The survey also found that:

• 24% of respondents think Trudeau has achieved “much”

• 24% think it’s too early to judge

• 30% think Canada’s reputation in the world has improved compared to during Stephen Harper’s premiership

• 21% think environmental issues have improved

• 20% think ethics and accountability have improved

But smaller numbers of Canadians think the following areas have improved since Trudeau took office:

• Public safety (19%)

• Health (19%)

• National unity (18%)

• Economy (16%)

• Tax (13%)

• Defence (11%)

If a federal election were held today, the Liberals would win the backing of 39% of decided voters, the survey also found.

The Conservatives are in second place with 30%, followed by the New Democrats with 17%, the Green Party with 7%, the Bloc Québécois with 5%, and the People’s Party with 1%.

The Liberals are particularly popular in Ontario (44%), Quebec (40%) and British Columbia (39%).

The Conservatives are ahead in Alberta (45%) and Manitoba and Saskatchewan (38%).