Canada’s 18th Prime Minister improves his standing, while the negative rating increases for the current head of government.
Vancouver, BC [September 4, 2024] – About one-in-six Canadians deem Brian Mulroney as the best Prime Minister the country has had since 1968, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 15% of Canadians pick Mulroney from a list of nine current and former heads of government, up seven points since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in July 2023.
Two former prime ministers are ahead of Mulroney on this question: Pierre Trudeau (18%, -2) and Stephen Harper (16%, -1). The rating is lower for Justin Trudeau (10%, -2), Jean Chrétien (9%, -2), Kim Campbell (3%, +2), Paul Martin (2%, -1), Joe Clark (2%, =) and John Turner (1%, -1).
Among men, Harper has a four-point edge over Pierre Trudeau (21% to 17%) as the best recent prime minister. Women put Pierre Trudeau in first place (18%) with Mulroney four points behind (14%).
“Practically one-in-four Quebecers (24%) think Mulroney is the best recent Canadian prime minister,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “In Ontario, Harper and Pierre Trudeau are tied for first place with 19% each.”
Almost two-in-five Canadians (38%, +8) think Justin Trudeau is the worst recent prime minister. Harper is a distant second with 14% (-4), followed by Pierre Trudeau (7%, +2), Campbell (6%, -1), Mulroney (3%, -3), Chrétien (3%, =), Clark (3%, =), Martin (2%, =) and Turner (2%, +1).
Majorities of residents of Alberta (55%) and Manitoba and Saskatchewan (52%) believe Justin Trudeau has been the worst recent Canadian head of government. The proportions are lower in Atlantic Canada (39%), British Columbia (also 39%), Ontario (37%) and Quebec (28%).
The survey also asked questions about 10 different people who served as leaders of the Official Opposition in Ottawa over the past five decades.
Fewer than three-in-ten Canadians believe five of these politicians would have made “very good” or “good” prime ministers: Michael Ignatieff (22%, +3), Stéphane Dion (24%, +6), Stockwell Day (26%, +7), Andrew Scheer (27%, +5) and Rona Ambrose (also 27%, +9).
The rating is slightly higher for four other former leaders of the Official Opposition: Erin O’Toole (31%, +9). Robert Stanfield (33%, +6), Preston Manning (also 33%, +5) and Tom Mulcair (34%, +7).
As has been the case in previous years, the best rated politician on this question is Jack Layton, with 52% of Canadians (+2) believing he would have made a “very good” or “good” prime minister.
Two thirds of Canadians who voted for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the 2021 federal election (66%) think Layton would have made a very good” or “good” head of government, along with 68% of those who voted for the Liberal Party and 45% of those who voted for the Conservative Party.
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted on August 19 to August 21, 2024, among 1,002 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our data tables here and download the press release here.
Photo Credit: Bob McNeely
Photograph of President William Jefferson Clinton, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney walking outside the University of British Columbia President’s residence in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca