The Trudeau government’s response to the war in Gaza is costing it support in two important voter bases: Muslims and Jews.
New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute polled 3,013 Canadians of all religious backgrounds, including those with none, and found that Muslim and Jewish voter support for the Liberal party was trailing the NDP and the Tories.
Some 31 per cent of decided Muslim voters say that they would vote Liberal, compared to 41 per cent who back the NDP.
Jewish voters were more than twice as likely to vote Conservative than Muslims, with 42 per cent of Jews intending to vote for the Tories compared to 33 per cent for the Liberals.
Sikh voters were the most inclined to vote for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives, at 54 per cent, with Christians and Hindus not far behind at 53 per cent. The Liberals had the backing of 22 per cent of Christians and Hindus and 21 per cent of Sikhs.
Jewish and Muslim voters have both been major support bases for the Trudeau’s Liberals in past elections.
The voting intentions of religious groups has been brought to the forefront by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed support for Israel on multiple occasions, though he has drawn criticism from Jews for restoring funding to UNRWA, the UN relief agency operating in Gaza.
Muslim voters were instrumental in lifting the Liberals to power in 2015, when Trudeau was campaigning against the Conservatives’ anti-terror legislation and the controversial “barbaric cultural practices” hotline. A 2016 poll found that 65 per cent of polled Muslims voted Liberal.
Trudeau’s sagging popularity with major religious groups comes on the heels of another Angus Reid Institute poll, which saw his net approval rating at -37 per cent, along with Poilievre and Singh, sitting at -12 and -14 per cent, respectively.
