Poilievre leads pack in CPC voters polls at 41 percent compared to Charest's 10

A Leger poll shows that many Conservative Party voters believe that longtime Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre should be leader.

The poll, conducted on March 6, found that 41 percent of Conservative voters believe Poilievre would be the best leader. At a distant second was Jean Charest at 10, with 2020 leadership race runner-up Peter MacKay at 9, former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown at 3 percent, and rising star MP Leslyn Lewis at 2 percent.

"At this stage of the game there is a lot of dynamic and potential for movement,” said Andrew Enns, executive vice-president at Leger’s Winnipeg office, to the National Post. "But, certainly right now Pierre Poilievre is the front-runner."

Charest only just announced his candidacy officially on Thursday

Poilievre leads Conservative voters in belief that he would have the best shot at defeating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in an election, with Charest at 14, MacKay at 10, Brown at 4, and Lewis at 3. The remaining 27 percent were undecided or did not answer.

Another recent poll, this time by Abacus Data, found that, "Among those who would vote Conservative today, Poilievre is viewed far more favourably than Charest. Poilievre has a +22 favourable score compared with -3 for Charest," the poll, by Abacus Data, said.

Charest's Quebec numbers are much different than the rest of the country. "Most know him but almost half have a negative impression," the report says.

Poilievre scores consistently throughout the province except for in Quebec, where he has just 8 percent viewing him positively.