Majority of Manitobans want Premier Selinger to resign, poll shows

A majority of Manitobans who responded to a recent poll believe Greg Selinger should step down as premier.

The poll, from Mainstreet Technologies and conducted on behalf of the Winnipeg Free Press, shows 58 per cent of respondents think Selinger needs to go. Of those, 45 per cent strongly believed that, while 13 per cent somewhat agreed.

Just 14 per cent feel Selinger should stay on.

​The poll results also reveal a strong divide among NDPers as to the future of Selinger. Of the respondents, 41 per cent who identify themselves as NDP completely or somewhat agree that he should resign. Another 40 per cent completely or somewhat feel he should stay.

Nineteen per cent had no opinion.

There were 2,019 respondents in the poll, which surveyed a random sample of Manitobans via telephone by Interactive Voice Response (IVR) on Nov. 3.

When asked how Mainstreet Technologies verifies that the person who answer's the phone is an eligible voter, company president Quito Maggi said "the first question in the poll is about eligibility and how likely you are to vote."

But he conceded the IVR system takes a person at their word and can't verify that the person who answers the phone is an adult.

Poll unbiased, says company president

Some have alleged employees of Mainstreet Technologies have associations with the Liberal party.

Mainstreet Technologies president Quito Maggi was asked by CBC Manitoba if the public should believe polls that are done by companies with ties to particular political parties.

"We have lots of people who are not politically affiliated,” said Maggi. “Having people who are interested in politics of any stripe is just good for business."

He also said he is "very confident" in the results of his company's poll because they had more than 2,000 people respond.

"Most polls [for a province the size of Manitoba] have a sample size of maybe 1,200 respondents," Maggi said.

When asked who paid for the poll, Maggi said his company footed the bill and regularly conducts polls in areas across Canada where interesting things are happening.

"Manitoba with the resignation of five cabinet ministers is an interesting dynamic to poll," he said.

Selinger, new cabinet meet

Manitobans hadn't heard from their premier since he shuffled his cabinet Monday.

Selinger’s new cabinet met for the first time Wednesday morning, and house leader Steve Ashton made a major announcement.

“There will be a fall session and it will kick off with a throne speech November 20th,” said Ashton.

"You're going to see the degree to which we're not only governing, but we have a very ambitious vision for this province.”

But University of Manitoba political scientist Royce Koop said the latest poll isn't just bad for the leader.

"It's not just for the premier but for the party," said Koop. "This is a party with a real split opinion on this question and if it isn't resolved fairly soon, it's the party that’s going to suffer in the next election."

The party still has the chance to toss Selinger before that happens, but Ashton said a lot can change in a week’s time.

"A week is a long time in politics,” said Ashton. “Last week was a very long week, but we are governing."

Poll shows PCs in lead

At present, the Manitoba NDP holds 27 per cent of support among all decided voters who responded to the poll.

​The Progressive Conservatives hold a commanding 53 per cent while the Liberals are at 20 per cent.

​Twenty-six per cent of those polled are undecided.

The poll carries a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.18 per cent, 19 times of out 20.

On mobile? See the poll results here