Polling numbers tracking Carney eerily similar to Dief’s

Current polling shows Prime Minister Mark Carney wins on global leadership. But support for the Conservatives remains strong on domestic issues. And at the end of the day, Canadians usually vote on pocketbook issues.

Former prime minister John Diefenbaker, left, Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. Diefenbaker personally experienced the fragility of political popularity. He went from being wildly popular in the 1958 sweep to being drummed out of the leadership at a bitter national convention only nine years later. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade and courtesy of Wikipedia

Opinion

BY SHEILA COPPS

May 4, 2026

OTTAWA—Former prime minister John Diefenbaker would often claim: “Polls are for dogs.”

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