Support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government continues to slip as it enters the third year of its mandate, a new Nanos survey shows.

The share of Canadians who described the federal government’s performance as either “poor” or “very poor” climbed to 39 per cent from 33 per cent last year, and 23 per cent in 2015, according to a survey by Nanos Research and the Institute for Research on Public Policy released on Monday.

Trudeau is in the midst of a Canada-wide series of town hall meetings that he has touted as an opportunity for Canadians to challenge him one-on-one on tough issues.

Canadians who viewed the Trudeau government’s performance as either “very good” or “somewhat good” shrank to 37 per cent this year from 43 per cent in 2016, the “Mood of Canada” survey found. That figure puts the Liberals in line with the previous Conservative government’s result in 2014.

The Liberals took fire on a number of fronts in 2017, ranging from the ethical implications of the prime minister’s vacation to a private island, to the rocky introduction of small business tax changes, to Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s investment ties to a family business.

“In a sense, the Trudeau government’s support is suffering from the transition from the promise of governing to the practice of governing,” Nik Nanos, chairman of the Nanos Research Group, said in a release accompanying the survey. “The longer the Liberals govern, the more likely for Canadians to dwell on a policy or a decision which they do not like.”

While the figures suggest a marked decline in the Trudeau government’s popularity, the impact on whether or not those polled believe Canada is being steered in the right direction was marginal. Canadians were split 50-50 on the question. Last year, 54 per cent responded positively.

A positive view of Canada’s overall direction reached a high of 63 per cent shortly after the Liberals won power in October 2015.

Canadians’ opinions were also mixed on the state of relations between the provinces and Ottawa. Thirty-five per cent said co-operation either “improved” or “somewhat improved” in 2017, compared to 32 per cent who felt things “somewhat not improved” or “not improved.” The remaining votes were either unsure or neutral.

The bright spot for the Liberals were opinions about Canada on the world stage. A majority of Canadians said the nation’s global reputation either “improved” or “somewhat improved” (54 per cent) last year, while 26 per cent said Canada’s image either had “not improved” or “somewhat not improved.”

Methodology

Nanos Research and the IRPP have been conducting the Mood of Canada survey since 2007. The latest wave is based on a Nanos RDD dual-frame (land and cell lines) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,000 Canadians, conducted between Dec. 27 and Dec. 29, 2017. Participants were randomly recruited by telephone using live agents and asked to complete a survey online. The margin of error for a random survey of 1,000 Canadians is ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.