(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Conservative party is holding on to the top spot in Canada, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies released by the Toronto Star. 36 per cent of respondents would vote for the Tories in the next federal election, while 26 per cent would back the Liberal party.

The New Democratic Party (NDP) is third with 18 per cent, followed by the Bloc Québécois with nine per cent, and the Green party also with nine per cent. Support for the Tories increased by two points since early March, while backing for the Grits fell by the same margin.

Canadians renewed the House of Commons in January 2006. 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 leads a minority administration after more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party. In December 2006, former environment minister Stéphane Dion became the new leader of the Liberals.

On Mar. 28, Dion discussed his views on when the opposition would topple the minority administration, saying, "We will determine the timing of the election when we will have the best odds of winning. It’s rare that the population wants an election, but we can feel it when the fruit is ripe. And at that time—it’s not up to me to tell you when; it’s part of the strategy that we keep close to our chest—there will be an election."

Polling Data

If a federal election were held tomorrow, which one of the following parties would you be most likely to support in your constituency?

Source: Angus Reid Strategies
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,007 Canadian adults, conducted on Mar. 27 and Mar. 28, 2008. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

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