[LINK] "Mulcair seen as skilled as Harper on the economy, poll shows"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Donovan Vincent reports on the increasing credibility of the NDP among voters.

Voters believe NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is as skilled at managing the economy as Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, and the NDP continues to hold a healthy lead in public support, a new poll by Forum Research finds.

The public opinion survey conducted after last week’s leaders debate found Harper and Mulcair in a statistical tie (30 per cent to 29 per cent respectively) when respondents were asked “which of the three main party leaders would handle the economy best?”

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was in third place with 26 per cent of voters saying he’d best handle the economy.

The results are significant because the general perception among the public has typically been that Harper and the Conservatives have a leg up when it comes to overseeing Canada’s economy, says Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff.

“That’s supposed to be the cornerstone of the Tory campaign, the economy, with a lot of their attention focused on balancing the budget. But there’s been an undercurrent of contrary news lately that the economy is not doing fabulously,’’ Bozinoff said in an interview Wednesday.