N.B. Tories keep lead among voters: poll

The Progressive Conservatives remain in the lead in popular support three months before the Sept. 27 provincial election, according to the latest Corporate Research Associates poll.

The Corporate Research Associates poll released on Thursday is expected to be the final poll before the campaign begins for the Sept. 27 election.

The Progressive Conservatives are ahead with 42 per cent support, followed by the Liberals with 37 per cent. The New Democratic Party is third with 16 per cent of the decided vote and the Green Party is a distant fourth with five per cent support. According to the polling firm, 36 per cent of those contacted were undecided.

The Tories and the Liberals are statistically tied, but the Tories have held an overall lead in popular support since November 2009, a month after Premier Shawn Graham announced the controversial deal to sell parts of NB Power to Hydro-Québec.

Although the Graham Liberals are still trailing David Alward's Progressive Conservatives, the Grits have staunched the loss of support immediately following the power deal's announcement.

CRA surveyed 807 voters between May 12 and 31. The poll has a margin of error of 3.4 per cent, 95 times out of 100.

The latest survey shows the main parties have remained locked with basically the same levels of support. The Tories had the support of 42 per cent of decided voters in March 2010 compared to 36 per cent for the Liberals, 18 per cent for the NDP and four per cent for the Green Party. Forty-two per cent of voters surveyed in March said they were undecided.

Government satisfaction gains

The public's satisfaction with the Liberal government seemed to get a small boost in the last three months.

The Graham government's satisfaction levels had taken a beating in the last several polls, mainly because of the uproar over the NB Power deal.

The new CRA poll shows that the overall satisfaction level with the Liberal government is at 41 per cent, up from 34 per cent in February. However, 51 per cent of respondents say they are mostly or completely dissatisfied with the Liberals compared to 55 per cent three months ago.

Graham also witnessed a slight bump in his personal support levels, according to the poll.

Graham is the preferred choice of 28 per cent of the public for premier, up from 25 per cent in March. Meanwhile, Alward saw his personal popularity stay at 27 per cent for the second consecutive poll.

The poll said 10 per cent of voters believe NDP Leader Roger Duguay is the best person to be premier and seven per cent think Green Party Leader Jack MacDougall should be leading the province.