Last week the Liberal government unveiled their new policy agenda through a throne speech, but it was not the political blockbuster they may have been hoping for. Overall it was closer to a non-event, with only half of Canadians saying that they have read, seen, or heard about the speech (50%).
Among those who did pay attention to the speech, it received mild overall support with 48% of Canadians saying it is headed in the right direction, while 36% say it is on the wrong track. Relatively few Canadians expect it to make a difference in their lives and those who do are divided on whether it is good (18%) or bad (24%).
Politically, Liberal partisans are the only group that is left feeling more favourable towards the government after the throne speech. Most New Democrats were unmoved with more than half (57%) saying the throne speech made no difference to their impression of the Liberal government with the rest almost equally divided between more or less unfavourable. Other voters are unimpressed, particularly Conservative partisan where 48% say they were left feeling much less favourably towards the Liberal government.
The government has successfully pushed WE into the background. Over the summer until mid-September, the WE Charity controversy was the top mention every week, but now it is only the fifth most common mention, with only 7% of respondents mentioning it. In its place, Canadians are hearing about the throne speech and COVID-19 measures, with the throne speech having a slightly negative impact on the government (-10%) among those who mention it and COVID-19 measures having a positive impact (+26%).
For detailed results, download INNOVATIVE’s full report here.
