NDP inching past conservatives, poll indicates
By KIM LUNMAN
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Ottawa — The NDP, under new Leader Jack Layton, is emerging as a second-place rival to the Liberals, according to a new poll released Thursday.
In the poll conducted for The Globe and Mail and CTV, 15 per cent of Canadians said they would vote for the New Democrats if an election were held now -- narrowly outpacing the Progressive Conservatives at 14 per cent and the Canadian Alliance at 10 per cent.
The poll suggests support for the Liberals has slipped since Paul Martin was chosen as Leader last month, although 43 per cent of Canadians said they would vote Liberal. That's a drop of 3 per cent from 46-per-cent support for the Liberals in October.
Support for the NDP has increased 4 per cent since October. Both the Tories and the Alliance, poised to merge, are down 1 per cent respectively since October.
The Bloc Quèbècois is at 9 per cent while the Green Party has 5-per-cent support.
The fact that the Liberal Party has dropped slightly in the polls is not surprising, though, since Mr. Martin's election was a long-awaited coronation, said John Wright, senior vice-president of Ipsos-Reid.
"Many Canadians had factored in the Martin victory and, as a result, the convention had less of a significance than an actual race does," he said.
Mr. Layton, a media-savvy former Toronto city councillor who does not have a seat in Parliament, was elected NDP Leader last January. His federal party is currently in fifth place in the House of Commons, with 14 MPs.
The Ipsos-Reid poll comes after reports of a Liberal poll Thursday indicating the NDP would pose its biggest threat in an election with 18 per cent compared with the Liberals' 40 per cent and 12 per cent for a united conservative party.
Mr. Wright said the NDP is benefiting from regional support in the Maritimes and the West as a result of feuding over the Tory-Alliance merger.
"We're turning the page and, as a result, there are some regional shifts taking place," he said.
Mr. Layton said the Liberal leadership under Mr. Martin is to the right of the political spectrum.
"People have discovered that the Liberals have just chosen a conservative to lead their party," he said. "Paul Martin is a very conservative guy. He's associated with corporate Canada. He's flying in their jets, he's cutting their taxes."
The Ipsos-Reid poll was conducted from Nov. 25 to Nov. 27 and was based on a randomly selected sample of 1,057 adults. The results are considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
By KIM LUNMAN
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Ottawa — The NDP, under new Leader Jack Layton, is emerging as a second-place rival to the Liberals, according to a new poll released Thursday.
In the poll conducted for The Globe and Mail and CTV, 15 per cent of Canadians said they would vote for the New Democrats if an election were held now -- narrowly outpacing the Progressive Conservatives at 14 per cent and the Canadian Alliance at 10 per cent.
The poll suggests support for the Liberals has slipped since Paul Martin was chosen as Leader last month, although 43 per cent of Canadians said they would vote Liberal. That's a drop of 3 per cent from 46-per-cent support for the Liberals in October.
Support for the NDP has increased 4 per cent since October. Both the Tories and the Alliance, poised to merge, are down 1 per cent respectively since October.
The Bloc Quèbècois is at 9 per cent while the Green Party has 5-per-cent support.
The fact that the Liberal Party has dropped slightly in the polls is not surprising, though, since Mr. Martin's election was a long-awaited coronation, said John Wright, senior vice-president of Ipsos-Reid.
"Many Canadians had factored in the Martin victory and, as a result, the convention had less of a significance than an actual race does," he said.
Mr. Layton, a media-savvy former Toronto city councillor who does not have a seat in Parliament, was elected NDP Leader last January. His federal party is currently in fifth place in the House of Commons, with 14 MPs.
The Ipsos-Reid poll comes after reports of a Liberal poll Thursday indicating the NDP would pose its biggest threat in an election with 18 per cent compared with the Liberals' 40 per cent and 12 per cent for a united conservative party.
Mr. Wright said the NDP is benefiting from regional support in the Maritimes and the West as a result of feuding over the Tory-Alliance merger.
"We're turning the page and, as a result, there are some regional shifts taking place," he said.
Mr. Layton said the Liberal leadership under Mr. Martin is to the right of the political spectrum.
"People have discovered that the Liberals have just chosen a conservative to lead their party," he said. "Paul Martin is a very conservative guy. He's associated with corporate Canada. He's flying in their jets, he's cutting their taxes."
The Ipsos-Reid poll was conducted from Nov. 25 to Nov. 27 and was based on a randomly selected sample of 1,057 adults. The results are considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.