Tories Lead Grits by Four Points in Canada
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The governing Conservative party holds the upper hand in Canada’s political scene, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies published in the Toronto Star. 34 per cent of respondents would vote for the Tories in the next election to the House of Commons.
The Liberal party is second with 30 per cent, followed by the New Democratic Party (NDP) with 18 per cent, the Green party with nine per cent, and the Bloc Québécois with eight per cent. Support the Tories increased by one point since late July, while backing for the Grits fell by four points.
Canadians renewed the House of Commons in October 2008. The Conservative party—led by Stephen 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, Michael Ignatieff took over as Liberal leader, replacing Stéphane Dion.
In late January, Canadian finance minister Jim Flaherty presented the federal budget, which predicts a $70 billion U.S. budget deficit over the next five years, and includes a $33 billion U.S. economic stimulus package, as well as tax relief aimed at the lower and middle class.
On Aug. 25, Ignatieff criticized the way the current administration is handling foreign affairs, saying, "This government has a terrible record about protecting Canadian citizens overseas. (...) In case after case after case they appear to pick and choose which Canadians they want to protect and which they don’t."
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 confidence motion.
Polling Data
If a federal election were held tomorrow, which one of the following parties would you be most likely to support in your constituency?
|
| Aug. 26 | Jul. 28 | Jul. 18 | Jul. 3 |
| Conservative | 34% | 33% | 33% | 36% |
| Liberal | 30% | 34% | 30% | 30% |
| New Democratic Party | 18% | 16% | 18% | 16% |
| Green | 9% | 7% | 6% | 7% |
| Bloc Québécois | 8% | 10% | 11% | 10% |
| Other | 0% | 1% | 2% | 1% |
Source: Angus Reid Strategies / Toronto Star
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,003 Canadian adults, conducted on Aug. 25 and Aug. 26, 2009. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.