

Paul Johnston, CP24.com





It was the Liberal leader that had the strongest performance in the first debate of the 2015 federal election campaign, according to a new poll.

The Forum Research poll of 1016 Toronto voters conducted Friday found that nearly one-quarter of respondents (23 per cent) think that Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau came out on top of the debate held in the city Thursday night.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper took second spot with 17 per cent, followed by the NDP’s Tom Mulcair at 15 per cent and Green party Leader Elizabeth May at ten per cent.

Twenty-five per cent of respondents felt that no one leader won.

Trudeau was especially strong with residents in North York (31 per cent) and Peel Region (27 per cent), while Harper scored well in Etobicoke (27 per cent).

“We have to be careful, because this poll was conducted between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and not everyone is home at that time,” Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff said in a release Friday evening.

“But it looks like, number one, the Liberals have a lead in Toronto, despite the NDP surge, and, two, that Justin Trudeau was seen to be the winner of the debate. There is also some evidence that he may have converted some soft NDP votes.”

Two-thirds of respondents who saw the debate said that nothing they saw or heard changed their opinion on how they would ultimately cast their vote (69 per cent).

Additionally, more than one-third of respondents said they are worse off now than they were four years ago (36 per cent).

The interactive voice response telephone poll is considered accurate plus or minus three per cent, 19 times out of 20.