February 14, 2006

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Scan) - Health care remains a contentious issue for many Canadians, according to a poll by Ipsos-Reid released by CanWest Global. 48 per cent of respondents believe the Conservative government should be toppled if it moves to give private for profit health care a bigger role in Canada, while 46 per cent disagree.

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Health care remains a contentious issue for many Canadians, according to a poll by Ipsos-Reid released by CanWest Global. 48 per cent of respondents believe the Conservative government should be toppled if it moves to give private for profit health care a bigger role in Canada, while 46 per cent disagree.

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, will lead a minority administration after more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party.

As far as other issues that could force a new election, 45 per cent of respondents cite efforts to pass a law that would limit a woman's access to an abortion or that would make same-sex marriage illegal, while 44 per cent of respondents would support toppling the government if it tries to send Canadian troops to fight in Iraq.

In his campaign platform, Harper promised to increase mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes, and vowed to improve waiting times for health care patients. The Conservatives are also expected 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—and cut the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Polling Data

As you may know, on Jan. 23, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives won a minority government. This means that they can be defeated in the House of Commons, just like Paul Martin and the Liberals were, if the opposition parties decide to get together to vote them out. If that happens, we will have another election. Would you support or oppose the opposition parties voting the Conservatives out if they do the following:

	Support	Oppose
Move to give private for profit health care a bigger role in Canada	48%	46%
Try to pass a law that limits a woman's access to abortion	45%	50%
Try to pass a law that makes same-sex marriages illegal	45%	54%
Send Canadian troops to fight in Iraq	44%	51%
Try to pass a law to cut the GST by 2% over their term in government	39%	57%

Source: Ipsos-Reid / CanWest Global
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 Canadian adults, conducted from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, 2006. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.