Poll shows Scheer gaining on asylum-seekers issue

A new poll by the Angus Reid Institute shows Justin Trudeau losing support on the issue of asylum-seekers crossing into Canada from the U.S.

The poll, released Friday, was based on a survey of 1,500 members of the online Angus Reid Forum between July 25 and July 30.

Overall, 67 per cent of those surveyed said they viewed the issue of irregular border-crossers as “a crisis.”

About the same number, 65 per cent, said they believe Canada has taken in more asylum-seekers than authorities can handle.

The Conservatives’ Andrew Scheer was the federal party leader with the most support on the border security file. Of those surveyed, 48 per cent said they trusted Scheer most to solve the issue of irregular border-crossers. This put him 13 points ahead of the Liberals’ Justin Trudeau, who was most-trusted by 35 per cent of those polled

The issue appears to have crossed party boundaries. While Scheer was most-trusted by 88 per cent those who identified as having voted Conservative in the 2015 election, he also found himself the most-trusted by 30 per cent of those who voted Liberal in 2015, along with 24 per cent of those who cast ballots for the NDP.

Full survey results can be found on the Angus Reid Institute website.