According to an Ipsos flash poll of debate viewers, PC Leader Tim Hudak walked away the winner of the Ontario leaders’ debate on Tuesday night.
Out of 1,765 people who watched the televised event, 36 per cent said they believe Tim Hudak won the debate compared to 27 per cent who said Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne had the strongest performance. Horwath was a close third with 26 per cent of respondents who said they believed the leader of the Ontario NDP won the debate. One in 10 said they were unsure who came out victorious.
The event, which was the first and last televised Ontario leaders’ debate before the June 12 election, dredged up some old familiar topics including the gas plant scandal, corruption, service cuts and job creation.
A pre-debate survey was conducted with 2,068 Ontarians who intended on watching the debate.
Of those polled, 32 per cent said they thought Wynne would come out on top, 24 per cent said they thought Hudak would win and 17 per cent said they thought Horwath would perform the strongest.
Nearly three in 10 (26 per cent) thought Hudak delivered a “knockout punch” during the debate versus Horwath (15 per cent) and Wynne (12 per cent). Nearly half (47 per cent) of viewers thought no one had a defining moment during the debate.
The results of this poll are considered accurate within plus or minus 2.7 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
