High name recognition gives Wilson-Raybould a better opportunity than most independent candidates have.
A new survey by Mainstreet Research shows Jody Wilson-Raybould with a narrow lead over the Liberals in the riding of Vancouver-Granville.
Wilson-Raybould – formerly a member of the Trudeau cabinet who left because of her opposition to Trudeau’s shady handling of the SNC-Lavalin Scandal and who was later kicked out of the Liberal Caucus by Trudeau – is a rare case of an independent candidate with high name recognition among the broader Canadian public.
Mainstreet Research surveyed 418 people in the riding between May 29th and May 30th, following the announcement by Wilson-Raybould that she would seek another term as an MP as an independent candidate.
Here are the results:
Wilson-Raybould – 30%
Liberal – 27%
Conservative – 18%
Green – 9%
NDP – 8%
Undecided – 8%
Different numbers with actual candidate names
We must note that those above numbers are when Wilson-Raybould is contrasted with party names, rather than the actual candidates in the riding.
But when people were asked who they would vote for specifically when the names of the actual candidates were shared, Wilson-Raybould’s lead grows:
Wilson-Raybould – 32.9%
Steven Kou (Liberal) – 24.1%
Erinn Broskho (Conservative) – 16.8%
Michael Barkusky (Green) – 9%
Mira Oreck (NDP) – 8.2%
Undecided – 9.1%
This poll shows that Wilson-Raybould doesn’t have a guaranteed path to re-election as an independent, but she has a very strong chance.
Wilson-Raybould has strong name recognition across Canada, which is very rare for an independent candidate. She will also have a significant campaign infrastructure, as almost the entire Vancouver-Granville Liberal riding association quit and is deciding to support her, rather than support the Liberal candidate.
Personally, I would like to see Wilson-Raybould elected as an independent. While I don’t share all her political views, she is willing to speak her mind, speak truth to power, confront corruption, and Canada needs more independent-minded people to break through the stifling and restrictive system of party-discipline and mindless talking points.
You can read the full Mainstream Research poll here.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
