Mark Carney holds a significant lead over Pierre Poilievre when voters ponder who would make the best prime minister.
Vancouver, BC [February 9, 2026] – The governing Liberal Party remains ahead of all other contenders in Canada’s federal political scene, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 45% of decided voters would cast a ballot for the Liberal candidate in their constituency, up two points since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in September 2025.
The Conservative Party is second with 32% (-6), followed by the New Democratic Party (NDP) with 10% (+2), the Bloc Québécois with 7% (+1), the Green Party with 3% (+1), the People’s Party with 2% (+1) and other parties and independent candidates with 1% (=).
The Liberals hold sizeable leads over the Conservatives in Atlantic Canada (54% to 37%), British Columbia (46% to 33%) and Ontario (46% to 38%).
In Quebec, the Liberals are first with 43%, followed by the Bloc with 29% and the Conservatives with 17%. The Conservatives hold a ten-point advantage over the Liberals in Alberta (44% to 34%).
This month, the Liberals are clearly ahead of the Conservatives among both male decided voters (44% to 34%) and female decided voters (46% to 31%). The governing party holds double-digit leads among Silent Generation / Baby Boomers (51% to 31%) and Millennials (43% to 30%). The race is closer, but still with the Liberals in first place, among Generation Z (38% to 33%) and Generation X (41% to 37%).
Just over one-in-five Canadians (21%, -3) say the economy and jobs is the most important issue facing the country right now, followed by housing, homelessness and poverty 18%, -4), Canada-U.S. Relations (16%, -1), health care (16%, +5) and immigration (11%, +1).
Prime Minister and Liberal leader Mark Carney holds the highest approval rating among all federal leaders at 55% (-1). The numbers are lower for Conservative and Official Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre (39%, -8), Green leader Elizabeth May (32%, -1), interim NDP leader Don Davies (28%, =), Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet (23%, -3) and People’s Party leader Maxime Bernier (20%, -2).
On the “Preferred Prime Minister” question, Carney is 19 points ahead of Poilievre (44% to 25%).
“More than half of Canada’s Baby Boomers (52%) prefer to have Mark Carney as prime minister,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “The Liberal leader is also substantially ahead on this question in Atlantic Canada (49%), British Columbia (46%) and Quebec (also 46%).”
When Canadians are asked which of the two main party leaders would be the best to handle 11 different issues, Carney and Poilievre are tied on only one: crime and public safety (35% to 35%).
Carney is ahead of Poilievre on being the best person to handle foreign affairs (48% to 26%), accountability and leadership (46% to 26%), Canada-U.S. Relations (46% to 27%), the economy and jobs (45% to 30%), national unity (45% to 26%), energy and pipelines (43% to 29%), health care (42% to 27%), immigration (40% to 31%), the environment (40% to 23%) and housing, homelessness and poverty (39% to 27%).
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from February 4 to February 6, 2026, among a representative sample of 1,001 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. 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.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca