Article content

While it’s possible no party will win a majority in the Oct. 19 federal election, Canadians don’t appear to have a preference for who would head any coalition government if the current opposition parties tried to form one.

Forty-five per cent of those asked in a recent Mainstreet Research poll said they would approve of a Liberal-NDP coalition headed by Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, while 42 per cent – almost a tie in polling terms – would approve of the NDP’s Tom Mulcair leading such a formal partnership.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or In event of coalition, Canadians not sure who should lead Back to video

Mainstreet asked the question of 5,197 Canadians on Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

Both opposition parties have stated forcefully that they would not prop up a Stephen Harper-led minority government, suggesting that if the election results don’t produce a majority, Canadians might look to the NDP and Liberals to team up and form a government.

The poll did not ask about less formal potential arrangements among the parties. Past governments have sometimes been supported without formal coalition agreements, both provincially and nationally.