September 18, 2023 – Fresh polling by Pollara Strategic Insights offers a reminder of how disconnected most Canadians are from federal politics, with just 57% of Canadians able to name the leader of the federal Conservative Party and only 40% able to name a member of the federal cabinet.
Though Poilievre has risen in the polls in recent months and is airing a multi-million dollar advertising campaign, over four-in-ten Canadians were unable to name him top-of-mind on an open-ended survey question. This includes over one-in-four (28%) Conservative voters who are unable to name him.
This lack of familiarity is not unique to Poilievre. Rather, it reflects that most Canadians do not follow federal politics closely. Indeed, awareness of federal Cabinet Ministers is even lower, with the majority of Canadians unable to identify a single minister.
Chrystia Freeland was, by far, the most widely named minister (30%), followed by Melanie Joly (15%) and Anita Anand (7%). No other ministers were named by more than 5% of survey respondents nationally, though some have regional profile.
See the full details in our report and commentary at The Writ.
