May 14, 2006

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Scan) - The governing Conservative party maintains a high level of voter support in Canada, according to a poll by Leger Marketing. 40 per cent of respondents would support the Tories in the next election to the House of Commons.

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - The governing Conservative party maintains a high level of voter support in Canada, according to a poll by Leger Marketing. 40 per cent of respondents would support 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 13 per cent, the Bloc Québécois with nine per cent, and the Green party with seven per cent.

Canadians renewed the House of Commons on Jan. 23. The Conservative party—led by Stephen Harper—received 36.3 per cent of the vote, and secured 124 seats in the 308-member lower house. Harper, who was sworn in on Feb. 6, leads a minority administration after more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party.

In an interview with the Toronto Star, Harper reflected on his first three months in office, saying, "We know what we want to do and we're doing it. Notwithstanding the normal hollering of the opposition, we're not getting unreasonable obstruction. But on the other hand, we shouldn't kid ourselves, there's still a lot that has to be done."

In their electoral platform, the Conservatives promised to introduce the Accountability Act, which would include the appointment of a special prosecutor to handle politically-sensitive cases, tighter controls over polling and advertising contracts, and a ban on secret donations to political candidates.

Polling Data

If federal elections were held today, for which of the following political parties would you be most likely to vote for?

Conservative	40%
Liberal	30%
New Democratic Party	13%
Bloc Québécois	9%
Green	7%

Source: Leger Marketing
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 1,267 Canadian voters, conducted from May 2 to May 7, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.