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Harper’s Tories Lead by Nine Points in Canada
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Support for the governing Conservative party remains high in Canada, according to a poll by The Strategic Counsel released by CTV and the Globe and Mail. 36 per cent of respondents would support the Tories in the next election to the House of Commons.
The Liberal party is second with 27 per cent, followed by the New Democratic Party (NDP) with 19 per cent, and the Bloc Québécois and the Green party with nine per cent each. Support for the Tories increased by one point in a month, while backing for the Liberals fell by four points.
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 April, Canada and the United States reached an agreement on a framework to end the softwood lumber dispute. Under the proposed deal, Canadian producers would be limited to a 34 per cent share of the U.S. market before taxes are levied on exports. The U.S. would return $4 billion U.S. collected from Canadian firms.
Yesterday, Harper discussed the situation, saying, "Considerable work has been done, is being done and will be done to make sure we get a final legal text and operating rules that reflect that agreement in principle. (...) Of course, we are confident that when that happens we will see the same provincial and industry support that we have seen all along."
Interim Liberal leader Bill Graham disagreed with the prime minister, saying, "British Columbia B.C. is concerned. Ontario and Quebec are concerned as well. Remanufacturers are shut out."
Polling Data
How would you vote if an election were held today?
Jun. 2006 | May 2006 | Apr. 2006 | |
Conservative | 36% | 35% | 39% |
Liberal | 27% | 31% | 29% |
New Democratic Party | 19% | 14% | 14% |
Bloc Québécois | 9% | 10% | 11% |
Green | 9% | 9% | 7% |
Source: The Strategic Counsel / CTV / The Globe and Mail
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 Canadian adults, conducted on Jun. 7 and Jun. 8, 2006. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.