Harper Down, Rivals Improve in Canada
December 19, 2009
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public support for Stephen Harper fell slightly in Canada this month, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 32 per cent of respondents approve of the prime minister’s performance, down two points since November.
Only 15 per cent of respondents approve of the way of Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is doing his job, up three points in a month. The approval rating for New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton is 29 per cent, up five points since November.
Canadians renewed the House of Commons in October 2008. The Conservative party—led by Harper—received 37.6 per cent of the vote, and secured 143 seats in the 308-member lower house. Harper assembled a minority administration. The Tories also earned a minority mandate after the 2006 election, ending more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party. In December, Ignatieff took over as Liberal leader, replacing Stéphane Dion.
Layton became the NDP’s leader in January 2003. He was elected to the House of Commons in June 2004, winning the Toronto-Danforth constituency.
On Sept. 1, Ignatieff declared that the Liberals will no longer support the Conservative minority administration in the House of Commons.
The next election to the House of Commons is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 15, 2012. Sitting prime ministers can dissolve Parliament and call an early ballot at their discretion. In order to trigger an election, all three opposition parties in the House of Commons—Liberals, NDP and Bloc—would have to defeat the government in a no-confidence motion.
Last month, Canadian intelligence officer and diplomat Richard Colvin testified to a parliamentary committee about a series of memos he wrote between May 2006 and October 2007 warning that Afghan detainees captured by Canadians and turned over to Afghan authorities were being tortured in Afghani prisons. Colvin testified that those memos were ignored until newspaper reports brought the matter into the public eye. Canadian government ministers have dismissed Colvin’s claims as "not credible" and "entirely suspect."
On Dec. 10, Ignatieff criticized the government’s actions, saying, "For over a year, the Conservatives had credible reports of torture from Canadian diplomats and soldiers in the field—and they did nothing."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of the performance of Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper?
Dec. 2009
Nov. 2009
Oct. 2009
Approve
32%
34%
34%
Disapprove
49%
44%
45%
Not sure
18%
22%
21%
Do you approve or disapprove of the performance of Liberal and Official Opposition leader Michael Ignatieff?
Dec. 2009
Nov. 2009
Oct. 2009
Approve
15%
12%
15%
Disapprove
53%
56%
53%
Not sure
31%
32%
32%
Do you approve or disapprove of the performance of New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton?
Dec. 2009
Nov. 2009
Oct. 2009
Approve
29%
24%
26%
Disapprove
36%
40%
39%
Not sure
35%
36%
35%
Source: Angus Reid Public Opinion Methodology: Online interviews with 1,000 Canadian adults, conducted on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10, 2009. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
Complete Poll (PDF)
