Prime Minister Stephen Harper hugs Thomas Mulcair (left) and Justin Trudeau (right) in the House of Commons on Thursday October 23, 2014 in Ottawa.The Canadian Press
An Ottawa polling firm released a survey Wednesday with the title "Party leaders are people, too." Could this provocative claim be true? Let's explore.
The firm, Abacus Data, asked 1,005 voting-age Canadians to choose between the three main federal leaders based on qualities associated with normal people. For instance, in answer to the question, "Who would you prefer to have babysit your children for an evening?", 44 per cent picked Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, 28 per cent chose Conservative Leader Prime Minister Stephen Harper and 28 per cent said NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair.
Overall, Mr. Trudeau was seen as what could fairly be described as the most solid boyfriend material. He was rated the best cook (41 per cent), the best to go on vacation with (55 per cent) and the one you could most trust to look after your pet (40 per cent).
Mr. Harper was seen as top dad material: best choice for CEO of a large company (47 per cent), best career advice-giver (41 per cent) and the best to call in when you have to negotiate your first lease or other contract (38 per cent).
Mr. Mulcair came down the middle – a fun dad who'd be the first of the three to lend you $100 in a pinch (38 per cent) but not someone you'd want over for supper (25 per cent).
Some may dismiss the poll as gimmicky, but they shouldn't. All three leaders' recent messaging has been a reflection of their weaknesses and strengths as revealed by these numbers.
Mr. Harper, for instance, has given up trying to be nice; instead, he has bet all his marbles that Canadians want to be led by a tough CEO who stands up to terrorists, criminals and deficit-budgeters.
Mr. Trudeau, meanwhile, reinforces voters' positive perceptions of him as a hip family man who caters to Canadians' better angels, while trying to weather his opponents' charges of being a lightweight. Mr. Mulcair puts his money on his gravitas relative to Mr. Trudeau's and his niceness relative to Mr. Harper's.
The leaders know we want them to be people, too, and they offer up that side of themselves as best they can. It's a complicated game for them, though. We voters can never quite decide if we want our prime ministers to be cold-blooded or compassionate. What we'd like, presumably, is a bit of both in the proper measure. So far, voters aren't seeing that in any one leader.