A leaderless Liberal Party is showing it has more support than the Ford government.
The poll from Liaison Strategies gives the Liberals 38% support, ahead of the PCs, who garner 36%.
The NDP are shown further back with 20%.
Liaison says it is the first time in its tracking that the Liberals have topped the polling.
The same poll also finds just 27% approve of the job that Premier Doug Ford is doing, while two-thirds of respondents (65%) feel the province is heading in the wrong direction.
According to polling, support for the Ford government has been sliding downward since October, when it hovered over 45%.
David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies, says the PCs have been getting hammered over a number of issues since.
“While the decay may have been slowed down by government advertising, the jet fiasco has pushed the PCs down even lower, and they now find themselves in second place,” states Valentin in a release.
The survey shows the Liberals are the strongest in Toronto (44%) and the 905-area (43%) ridings.
The NDP has also made gains in those areas, but continues to earn its strongest support in northern Ontario, south central Ontario, Hamilton and Niagara, where the party currently has representation.
The PC’s strongest support is coming from southwestern and Eastern Ontario.
Many voters also have a dim view of Ford as Premier.
Sixty-one percent of respondents feel he does not care about the average Ontario voter, and just 30% believe he is honest and trustworthy.
“Ford’s one relative strength remains leadership style. A majority (57%) say he is strong and decisive, compared to 38% who disagree,” states Valentin.
Sixty-five percent state they have little or no confidence in Ford’s ability to manage taxpayer money.
Sixty-two percent also feel that Ford only apologized about the jet purchase because he was caught.
“The question now is whether this trend has legs, or if the PCs can stop the bleeding,” states Valentin.
“So far, the government’s ad campaign hasn’t been enough. It’s possible things reset next month, and the summer lull gives them some breathing room as the legislature fades from view.”
The current sessions end on June 4th.
The Liberals do not plan to elect a new leader until November.
