NDP calls out Liberal voter survey in London North Centre
The Ontario NDP says the campaign of London North Centre (LNC) Liberal Candidate Kate Graham conducted an “unethical stunt.”
But Liberals say the focus should be on NDP tactics, not Liberal voter surveys.
Still, the NDP says the Graham team was out of line when it conducted and then released a push voter survey publicly.
“It is such a shame to see,” said Terrance Kernaghan, the NDP candidate in LNC. “It’s unfortunate to see where folks are playing in the mud.”
This week, the LNC Liberals released their survey, which shows the Liberals in the first place, followed by the PCs and the NDP.
The Graham campaign reports it was conducted independently over the phone with 325 respondents.
A voter survey released by the Kate Graham campaign indicates voter support for her campaign is higher than other parties. The Ontario NDP say the survey conducted by phone is inaccurate and “unethical”. The survey was taken from 325 respondents, but the NDP claims is is not scientific. (Source: Kate Graham campaign email) But in a media release, the Ontario NDP suggested the phone survey is not legitimate, adding it would not even be a legal tactic in a federal election campaign.
The release also included five political experts who also questioned the push survey, with one arguing it is wrong to suggest it was an “impartial scientific poll.”
A Western political science professor did not weigh in on the methodology of the survey with CTV News. However, Laura Stephenson concedes it is difficult to conduct accurate riding polls.
“Any riding is small, so we have to recognize that trying to do any polling in a very small area is going to mean really big margins of error and not huge sample sizes,” she said.
CTV News reached out to Kate Graham for an interview, but her team slated she was busy campaigning Thursday and instead offered a statement.
In it, she did not write about the survey, but stated in part, "I’m really disappointed that the NDP has decided to finish this campaign by attacking me personally.”
The controversy reached Liberal Leader Stephen Del Duca campaigning in Toronto. He echoed Graham but did not respond directly to a reporter's question about the survey.
“I think what unconscionable is for Andrea Horwath and the NDP to consistently now launch personal attacks against strong female candidates running for other parties,” Del Duca said.
Meanwhile, the NDP in London North Centre intends to press on and gauge voter support door-to-door.
“It [the survey] doesn’t represent exactly what we are hearing on the doors,” Kernaghan concluded.
— With files from CTV Toronto and CTV News London’s Marek Sutherland
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Say it to my face': Singh confronts heckling protester on Parliament Hill
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confronted a protester for calling him a 'corrupted bastard' on Parliament Hill on Tuesday.
Poilievre's first chance to topple Trudeau government expected next week
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is set to get his first chance to topple Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal government next week, CTV News has confirmed.
Why it's 'very hard' to find work in Canada
Vacancies have steadily fallen since the glut of nearly one million open posts in 2022. At the time, one in three businesses had trouble hiring staff due to a labour shortage. Since then, vacancies have dropped.
Judge orders Sean 'Diddy' Combs jailed in sex trafficking and racketeering charges
Sean 'Diddy' Combs presided over a sordid empire of sexual crimes, coercing and abusing women for years while using blackmail and shocking acts of violence to keep his victims in line, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Hezbollah hit by a wave of exploding pagers and blames Israel. At least 9 dead, thousands injured
Pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded near simultaneously in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday, killing at least nine people.
Two people charged in murder of Halifax teen; police believe remains have been found
Halifax Regional Police believe Devon Sinclair Marsman, who disappeared in 2022, was the victim of a homicide and two people have now been charged in his death.
Canucks' Dakota Joshua reveals he is recovering from cancer
Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua revealed Tuesday he underwent cancer treatment over the summer, and will not be ready to play when the team’s training camp begins later this week.
Liberal campaign co-chair calls Montreal byelection loss a 'dry run' for general election
Liberal campaign co-chair Soraya Martinez Ferrada says her party’s Montreal byelection loss — in a riding that has historically been a party stronghold — is a “dry run” for the next general election.
What is racketeering? The crime, explained
Sex trafficking, cheating scandals and mob activity may appear very different. But all fall under the broad umbrella of racketeering.