Summer Polls are Unreliable

Despite what the pollsters might be telling us, this isn't the season for gauging political support.

In the past two weeks, a variety of opinion polls have shown that the Conservative Party's lead over the Liberals is slipping, and in some cases close to parity. The subsequent reactions have been varied, with some pollsters feeling a fall election is more possible than ever, and others deriding the recent numbers as typical fare for the past few years. Some pollsters have linked declining Conservative numbers to the lengthy census debate, while others, such as Ipsos Reid's John Wright, have pointed to a post-G20 backlash.

The Mark caught up with Jaime Watt, chair and senior partner at Navigator Ltd., to speak about whether summer polling really matters, and whether the recent poll numbers have any significance in the long-run. Watt also touches on the census controversy, and whether the public spats have played a factor in political support.