(Angus Reid Consultants - CPOD Global Scan) - Canadians remain split over the legalization of same-sex marriage, according to a poll by Ekos Research Associates published in the Toronto Star. 42 per cent of respondents support allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, while 40 per cent disagree.

Over the past two years, the courts in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Yukon, and Newfoundland and Labrador have ruled to permit legal same-sex marriages.

On Dec. 9, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of allowing the federal government to go ahead with a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. The country's foremost tribunal said the constitution protects the rights of homosexual partners to formalize their bonds.

Last month, Conservative party leader Stephen Harper launched a series of high-profile advertisements in Canadian newspapers to showcase his view on the traditional definition of marriage. Harper has proposed the creation of a new kind of civil union for homosexual partners.

On Feb. 1, the government introduced legislation aimed at legalizing same-sex marriage in the entire country. Prime minister Paul Martin has guaranteed Liberal party members a "free vote" on the bill. The governing Liberals currently control 134 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons. If approved, the law would stipulate that no religious institutions would be forced to perform same-sex marriages.

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