Foreign affairs usually don’t play a role when it comes to voting in Canadian federal elections. But the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is having an effect on religious voters in this country. That’s the finding of a new poll by the Angus Reid Institute that shows low support for the federal Liberal party among all religious groups, including two groups they have traditionally counted on — Muslims and Jews.

The poll, which was released in mid-May, shows

• 41 per cent of Muslims support the NDP, 31 per cent support the Liberals and 15 per cent support the Conservatives. By contrast, in a 2016 Environics Institute poll, 65 per cent of Muslims reported voting for the Liberals in the 2015 election, 10 per cent voted for the NDP and just two per cent supported the Conservatives.
• Jewish support for Liberals is also low, with 42 per cent supporting the Conservatives compared to 33 per cent for the Liberals. Liberals have traditionally performed well in federal ridings with significant Jewish populations, the Angus Reid article notes.
• forty-five per cent of Roman Catholics prefer the Conservatives, 24 per cent the Liberals and 16 per cent are for the NDP.
• Among mainline Protestants, 58 per cent are for the Conservatives, 25 per cent for the Liberals and 11 per cent are NDP.
• Seventy-nine per cent of evangelicals would vote Conservative, five per cent for the Liberals and 14 per cent NDP. -Fifty-three per cent of Hindus would vote Conservative, 22 per cent support the Liberals and 18 per cent the NDP.
• For Sikhs, 54 per cent are Conservative, 21 per cent Liberal and 20 per cent NDP.