(Angus Reid Global Scan) - The opposition Conservative party is still the top political organization in Canada, according to a poll by Decima Research. 32 per cent of respondents would vote for the Tories in the next federal election. The governing Liberal party is in second place with 27 per cent, followed by the New Democratic Party (NDP) with 21 per cent—a three per cent increase in a week—and the Bloc Québécois with 15 per cent.

Liberal leader Paul Martin took over as Canada's prime minister in December 2003. In the June 2004 election, his party secured a minority government with 135 seats in the House of Commons.

Last year, Martin called a public inquiry into the federal sponsorship program—initiated during the tenure of prime minister Jean Chrétien to promote Canada in Quebec—after auditor-general Sheila Fraser concluded that approximately $75 million U.S. of the program's budget was paid to Liberal-friendly advertising firms for little or no work.

Justice John Gomery was put in charge of the investigation, which is expected to conclude in December 2005. On Apr. 21 in an uncommon televised address, Martin argued for the completion of the inquiry, saying, "Let the facts come out and then the people of Canada will have their say." The prime minister vowed to hold a federal election "within 30 days of the publication of the commission's final report and recommendations."

A sitting administration can only be toppled when it loses a vote that deals with confidence or finances. NDP leader Jack Layton met with Martin on Apr. 24 to discuss changes to the federal budget. Layton has publicly requested investing $3.7 billion U.S.—originally earmarked for corporate tax cuts—in environmental and social programs.

Yesterday, Conservative leader Stephen Harper said a Liberal-NDP agreement on the budget would "push (the Conservatives) further away from this government and further away from supporting it."

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