The latest political opinion poll shows the Liberals are still the party of choice for a plurality of Quebecers.
The CROP poll, conducted over the weekend, shows 33% of voters in Quebec would vote for Premier Couillard's Liberals if an election were held today.
That's roughly the same support as the party has held all year, and several points above the competition.
According to CROP support for the Parti Quebecois dropped four percentage points in the past month to 26%.
Support for the CAQ has steadily risen all year, from 19% in January to 25% today.
The poll shows that 36% of Quebecers approve of the job being done by the provincial government, despite former cabinet minister Nathalie Normandeau being charged with corruption and with Sam Hamad accused of ethical breaches.
That results mean right now, the Liberals would still win an election, even though the same poll shows 61% of Quebecers say they're unsatisfied with the Couillard government.
A Leger poll in February had approval for the Liberals at 30%.
Francois Legault wondered what it will take to convince Quebecers to abandon their support for the Liberal party.
"We still have this Liberal monopoly. Even with all errors and mistakes of the Couillard government, the Liberals are still first. Why is that?" said the CAQ leader.
Parti Quebecois leader Pierre Karl Peladeau said he was shocked that even one-third of Quebecers approve of the Liberal government.
"I'm suprised also. I'm surprised by the fact that with all the mistakes, with all the changing of their minds, with all the things that have happened recently -- criminal charges against Nathalie Normandeau and Marc-Yvan Coté that the satisfaction level is still relatively high," said Peladeau.
Political analyst Lise Ravary said the sovereignty debate still limits what voters in Quebec will choose.
"If you're not a sovereigntist you don't have that many places to go to. You're not going to go to the PQ or even the CAQ, because people think Francois Legault, in the back of his mind, might one day, you know..." said Ravary.
As a result Quebecers tend to support whichever party they perceive as being the lesser evil.
"Probably Dr. Freud could explain why Quebecers like a government that's been tough on them, like the Liberals have been," said Ravary.
Liberal House Leader Jean-Marc Fournier says the opposition's strategy may have backfired.
“We try not to go into low politics and I think that maybe other parties should maybe look at the reaction of the population when they use bad tactics just to play against the political class. I think it's playing against them probably,” he said.
The CROP poll surveyed 1,000 people from April 14 to 18.
