A majority of Ontario voters are “less likely” to vote for Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer in the fall federal election due to Premier Doug Ford’s policies, a new poll suggests.The Corbett Communications survey for the Star found 54 per cent of respondents said the actions of Ford’s Progressive Conservatives would have an impact on their federal voting choice.Among federal Conservative voters 21 per cent said they were less likely to vote for Scheer because of Ford’s policies. “Ford is a huge anchor on Scheer,” pollster John Corbett said Thursday.Perhaps mindful of that, the premier’s office has adjourned the Ontario legislature until Oct. 28 — one week after the federal election.“He is a danger for the (Scheer) Tories,” Corbett said of Ford, whose popularity has plunged to the low levels of his Liberal predecessor, Kathleen Wynne, thanks in part to service cuts from the April budget.About one-third — 31 per cent — of respondents said Ford’s policies would have no effect on their ballot this fall while 15 per cent didn’t know. Using Maru/Blue’s Maru Voice Canada online panel, Corbett Communications surveyed 1,555 Ontario voters on Tuesday and Wednesday. It is an opt-in sample, but for comparison purposes a randomly selected sample of this size would have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.Ford’s officials insisted they did not extend the summer break, which was to have ended Sept. 9, in order to help the federal Tories.Scheer’s office said in a statement that “nobody in the office of the leader of the official opposition was in touch with Premier Ford’s office about his decision to adjourn the legislature.”As Ford on Friday marks the first anniversary of his majority victory over Wynne’s Liberals, Corbett said the premier appears to be in a tailspin.“He’s lost 11 points since our ...
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