Mark Carney’s approval rating as PM slips despite Liberal lead in polls

Support fell below 60% for the first time since late January, according to Liaison Strategies poll

Published May 12, 2026  •  2 minute read

Prime Minister Mark Carney walks to his office for a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 28, 2026. Photo by Blair Gable /Postmedia

OTTAWA — While the Mark Carney Liberals enjoyed a near double-digit advantage over the Pierre Poilievre Conservatives, the prime minister’s approval rating saw a noticeable dip since the end of last month.

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That’s according to Liaison Strategies’ weekly federal tracker poll, which shows the PM’s approval rating falling below 60% for the first time since late January.

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“Fifty-eight per cent approve of the job he is doing as prime minister, while 34% disapprove and 8% are unsure,” said Liaison’s David Valentin.

“A two-point drop is not nothing, but when your approval is still near 60%, you have room to absorb a little turbulence.”

Nevertheless, the two-point drop represented a week-over-week decline of his approval ratings, compounded by a steady rise in his disapproval rating over the same time period.

“Ever since the Davos speech, the prime minister has been in the 60s and now he’s slipped to 58%,” Valentin said, reffering to Carney’s address to the World Economic Forum.

Mark Carney’s approval rating. Photo by Toronto Sun graphic

Bad news for Poilievre as well

Poilievre’s fortunes, however, continue to founder in opinion polls, with the Conservative leader only pulling 36% of positive responses when asked if respondents had a favourable or unfavourable view of him.

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“Thirty-six per cent have a favourable view of him, while 51% have an unfavourable view,” Valentin said.

“That is a difficult number for an Opposition leader trying to broaden the Conservative coalition beyond the party’s existing base.”

If a federal election were held today, 37% of those polled said they’d vote Liberal, compared to 28% who supported the Tories. Nine per cent said they’d vote NDP, 5% put their vote behind the Bloc Quebecois and 16% said they supported another party.

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‘Strong’ support for Liberals in Ontario

“The topline has not moved much, but the underlying numbers are not completely static,” Valentin said.

“The Liberals remain in a very strong position in Ontario, where they sit at 51% among decided and leaning voters, and they are further ahead in Atlantic Canada at 52%.”

While the Tories remain strong in the Prairies, Valentin said it isn’t enough to shift national trends.

“As long as the Liberals are around 50% in Ontario and comfortably ahead in Atlantic Canada, the Conservatives have a very narrow path,” he said.

The poll was conducted with a random sample of 1,526 Canadians between April 27 and Saturday with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.51 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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