N.B. voters wary of all political parties: poll

New Brunswick voters are issuing a strong rebuke against all of the province's political parties only months before the Sept. 27 election, according to a new poll.

The latest Corporate Research Associates poll showed that 45 per cent of New Brunswick voters polled cannot identify any party or picked none of the parties when asked who offer the best vision for the province.

The Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives were each chosen by 22 per cent as the party with the best vision for New Brunswick.

The poll also showed that the NDP and the Greens haven't capitalized on any public discontent with the two main political parties. Eight per cent of respondents said the NDP have the best vision for the province and the Greens trailed with three per cent.

'The results suggest that none of the parties is particularly well positioned in terms of having any advantage over the others as the provincial election approaches.' Don Mills, president of Corporate Research Associates

"The results suggest that none of the parties is particularly well positioned in terms of having any advantage over the others as the provincial election approaches," said Don Mills, president and chief executive officer of CRA in a news release.

"A significant number of New Brunswickers, not surprisingly perhaps, have therefore not yet made a decision on which party to support in the upcoming election."

The Liberals and Progressive Conservatives were tied with 21 per cent when asked who could best deal with the health-care system. The two parties were also tied with 23 per cent when asked what party would best deal with social problems, including public safety and crime.

The CRA poll interviewed 403 New Brunswick residents between May 17 and 31. The margin or error is 4.9 percentage points, 95 times out of 100.

CRA's quarterly political survey released on June 3 showed the Progressive Conservatives had 42 per cent of decided voters, followed by the Liberals with 37 per cent. The New Democratic Party is third with 16 per cent of the decided vote and the Green Party is a distant fourth with five per cent support. According to the polling firm, 36 per cent of those contacted were undecided.

Election issues

The Progressive Conservatives held a clear lead among voters when voters were asked what party was best able to maintain a balanced budget.

The PCs were picked by 26 per cent of respondents on the balanced budget question compared to 15 per cent who selected the Liberals.

When the polling company asked voters what issues were the most important in the Sept. 27 election, the economy and health-care funding were both chosen by 22 per cent.

The poll showed 17 per cent of people selected handling of the NB Power deal as the next biggest issue, 14 per cent selected education funding and another 10 per cent picked the province's growing debt.