Most Canadians would consider voting for party with Sikh leader: poll
Posted Oct 6, 2017 04:04:17 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Now that Jagmeet Singh is the new leader of the federal NDP, the question is would Canadians vote for him?
According to an Angus Reid poll released on Friday, many would consider it.
Seven in 10 Canadians said they would consider voting for a national party leader who wears a turban and carries a kirpan, as Singh does.
The same number said the win is good for the country.
However, half of those surveyed said some or most of their close family and friends would not vote for a Sikh man.
The greatest reservations came from Quebec, a province where the NDP won 59 seats during the “Orange Wave” in 2011 and lost much of that ground four years later.
Nearly half said voting for a politician who looks like Singh and shares his beliefs is a non-starter.
Meanwhile, only one in 10 Canadians (nine per cent) claim to be “very” or “fairly” familiar with Singh. Seven in 10 (69 per cent) said they’ve never heard of him or have heard his name, but know nothing else about him.
Singh, 38, took the first ballot at the NDP leadership convention on Sunday, with 53 per cent of the vote over top MP rivals Charlie Angus, Niki Ashton and Guy Caron.
Before the victory, Singh served as deputy for Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath in 2015 and represented Brampton’s Bramalea-Gore-Malton riding at Queen’s Park since 2011.
With files from The Canadian Press
