Burger poll finds Jagmeet Singh far ahead for Monday's federal election

But the restaurant manager says second place, historically, wins more often

    1 of 2 2 of 2

      Forget national pollsters like Ipsos, Angus Reid, Nanos, and Léger. Burger lovers know who is going to win Monday's (September 20) national election.

      Well, sometimes they do, if the track record of a long-running burger poll run by a New Westminster restaurant is any indication.

      So far this year, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's burger is the runaway winner in the B-UN Official Federal Election Burger Heaven Burger Poll survey, based on which of six special burgers customers order at 77 10th Street's Burger Heaven.

      The Jagmeet Singh Burger claimed 30 percent of sales after the first week following the poll's launch on August 30, and it dipped slightly, to 29 percent, the next week.

      But as of September 17, the meal described by Burger Heaven as "prime Grade A beef" that is "stirring the pot with promises of affordability" nudged its way back up to 30 percent.

      The unofficial burger poll ends on the evening of September 18, but it has been running since the restaurant's original owner started it in 1985 or '86, according to current manager Chris Geib.

      "It went over like gangbusters at the time, and it's been going strong ever since," Geib told the Straight by phone on September 17. "We do all of them [elections]—local, federal, and provincial—we do it all!

      "It's a pretty big hit around here," Geib added, "and people really look forward to it."

      Perhaps surprisingly, the CPC's Erin O'Toole Burger ("cooked with relish and includes a conservative slice of tangy Quebec aged cheese") is tied for second place with the Green Party's Annamie Paul Burger ("grilled on the back burner...[and] seasoned with Caribbean spices"), with both at 18 percent.

      New Westminster's Burger Heaven restaurant has been running its burger polls for more than three decades.
      Burger Heaven

      The incumbent prime minister, the Liberal Party's Justin Trudeau, sees his namesake burger ("cooked on the front burner" with "Ontario medium-aged cheddar, red hot sauce" and a "liberal slab of bacon") in fourth spot, at a mere 15 percent of total sales.

      The PPC's Maxime Bernier (with his offering "grilled on the far-right burner"), at eight percent, and the BQ's Yves-Francois Blanchet ("bœuf B(BQ)’d...on the back center left burner...with French dressing"), at one percent, share the backbenches.

      The remaining 10 percent of customers were "B(UN)decided".

      The restaurant's federal prediction record isn't as stellar as its burgers, though, it seems, so Singh and the NDP shouldn't break out the relish just yet.

      "It's a heavily NDP area," Geib said, "so when it comes to the provincial elections, we have been right whenever the NDP wins."

      But the federal contests?

      "We came close to hitting one," Geib admits. "When it comes to the federal poll, I take whoever comes second."

      In that case, depending on sales for the poll's last day, the Conservatives and the Greens could end up sharing power.

      "You sound as excited as I am," Geib told the Straight of that eventuality.

      Comments