O'Leary Holds Commanding Lead In Conservative Leadership Contest

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1 O'Leary Holds Commanding Lead In Conservative Leadership Contest But more than a third of respondents want "someone else" Toronto January 22 nd In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll among 1,332 Canadian voters, Kevin O'Leary is the preferred candidate to lead the Conservative Party (27%). Maxime Bernier is in distant second, favoured by (11%), followed by with Lisa Raitt (7%) and Michael Chong (6%). More than a third of Canadians (38%) believe "someone else" would be a better choice to lead the Conservative Party than any of the eight identified candidates. This is down from (53%) who desired someone else in December. For Conservative Party members O Leary leads all leadership candidates (31%), and he has even more support with those who voted for the Conservatives in 2015 (49%). "Kevin O'Leary's entry into the Conservative leadership race has propelled him to the front of the field, with more than double the support of his nearest rival. Still, more than a third of interested voters don't support any of the current candidates," said Forum Research President, Dr. Lorne Bozinoff. Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at lbozinoff@ or at (416) Kevin O'Leary is the preferred candidate to lead the Conservative Party (27%) More than a third of Canadians (38%) believe "someone else" would be a better choice to lead the Conservative Party than any of the eight identified candidates. This is down from (53%) who desired someone else in December "Kevin O'Leary's entry into the Conservative leadership race has propelled him to the front of the field, with more than double the support of his nearest rival. Still, more than a third of interested voters don't support any of the current candidates," said Forum Research President, Dr. Lorne Bozinoff 1

2 Methodology The Forum Poll was conducted by Forum Research with the results based on an interactive voice response telephone survey of 1332 randomly Canadian Voters. The poll was conducted on January 19 th -21 st. Results based on the total sample are considered accurate +/- 3%, 19 times out of 20. Subsample results will be less accurate. Margins of error for subsample (such as age, gender) results are available at Where appropriate, the data has been statistically weighted by age, region, and other variables to ensure that the sample reflects the actual population according to the latest Census data. This research is not necessarily predictive of future outcomes, but rather, captures opinion at one point in time. Forum Research conducted this poll as a public service and to demonstrate our survey research capabilities. Forum houses its poll results in the Data Library of the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. With offices across Canada and around the world, 100% Canadian-owned Forum Research is one of the country s leading survey research firms. This Forum Poll and other polls may be found at Forum's poll archive at 2

3 Best Conservative Party Leader Which of the following would make the best permanent leader of the federal Conservative Party? [All Respondents] Age/Gender % Total Male Female Sample Chris Alexander Maxime Bernier (Max - EEM BAIRnyay) Steven Blaney Michael Chong Kellie Leitch Kevin O Leary Lisa Raitt Andrew Scheer Someone Else [Anchor] Income % Total <$20K $20- $40- $60- $80- $100- $40K $60K $80K $100K $250K Sample Chris Alexander Maxime Bernier (Max - EEM BAIR-nyay) Steven Blaney Michael Chong Kellie Leitch Kevin O Leary Lisa Raitt Andrew Scheer Someone Else [Anchor]

4 Region / Language % Total Atl Que ON Man/Sask AB BC English French Sample Chris Alexander Maxime Bernier (Max - EEM BAIR-nyay) Steven Blaney Michael Chong Kellie Leitch Kevin O Leary Lisa Raitt Andrew Scheer Someone Else [Anchor] Current Federal Vote Preference % Total Cons Lib NDP Green Bloc Other Parties Sample Chris Alexander Maxime Bernier (Max - EEM BAIRnyay) Steven Blaney Michael Chong Kellie Leitch Kevin O Leary Lisa Raitt Andrew Scheer Someone Else [Anchor] Conservative Party Membership % Total Yes No Sample Chris Alexander Maxime Bernier (Max - EEM BAIR-nyay) Steven Blaney Michael Chong Kellie Leitch Kevin O Leary Lisa Raitt Andrew Scheer Someone Else [Anchor]

5 For more information: Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. President Forum Research Inc. Tel: (416) Fax: (416)