Canadian Political Polls

[Jerry J. Fortin]

Take a look down south (and in the US forums at this website). Obama inherited the mess but the Republicans are taking every opportunity to blame him for everything.

One side always blames the other. The guy in power is always at at risk of being blamed for everything under the sun, whether he/she did it or not and they always blame the folks that were there before them. Childish it may be, but that is the way those clowns operate.

[ToadBrother]

The longer Harper remains in power the more damage he does. On the other hand Iggy isn't going to be to gentle on the checkbook either. Expect even more spending, but this time on social programs. We are going to get about as much debt out of him as we do out of Harper, si I figure you can double the deficit and debt over the next few years.

I just want Iggy because it will really upset western Canada and Albertans in particular! Not really, hah hah, but it sounds good!

Not that I'm any kind of raging socialist, but to be honest with you, I'd much rather have temporarily altered EI, extending it and making it much fairer to different regions, as well as finding a way to pump money to provincial social programs, where folks go who EI can't or won't help, than to have sent billions of dollars to the auto industry.

If it had been me in charge, I would have offered GM to Toyota for 5 cents on the dollar, and Chrysler to anyone who could pay half that. I guarantee you, within a decade, most production lines for these two companies will be in China, Mexico or maybe even India, so we basically just underwrote the moving of our oh-so-precious manufacturing core to somewhere else.

[ToadBrother]

I just want Iggy because it will really upset western Canada and Albertans in particular! Not really, hah hah, but it sounds good!

Maybe Alberta, because they'd vote Tory even if Harper were to start goose-stepping through downtown Calgary and singing Horst-Wessel-Lied. But I know here in BC, everyone, including the Provincial government, is furious with the EI inequities (the Province is mad, of course, because it means the ranks of those on welfare are about to swell).

[Jerry J. Fortin]

Not that I'm any kind of raging socialist, but to be honest with you, I'd much rather have temporarily altered EI, extending it and making it much fairer to different regions, as well as finding a way to pump money to provincial social programs, where folks go who EI can't or won't help, than to have sent billions of dollars to the auto industry.

If it had been me in charge, I would have offered GM to Toyota for 5 cents on the dollar, and Chrysler to anyone who could pay half that. I guarantee you, within a decade, most production lines for these two companies will be in China, Mexico or maybe even India, so we basically just underwrote the moving of our oh-so-precious manufacturing core to somewhere else.

The bailout was a bad idea, perhaps even worth mentioning during an election .............

[Smallc]

If it had been me in charge, I would have offered GM to Toyota for 5 cents on the dollar,

Since Toyota needed Japanese government money, I doubt they would have been in a position to buy.

[Vancouver King]

Since Toyota needed Japanese government money, I doubt they would have been in a position to buy.

Of late Toyota and Honda have had disatrous N. American sales - far worse sales falloffs than Ford. If this keeps up the question will have to be asked: why can't the Asians build cars that people want to buy?

[Topaz]

We'll have to wait till Monday for word.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009...12/9777621.html

All parties keep saying Canadians don't want an election. This, and the fact that over the last six months, all the opposition has talked about is how incompetent this government has been. What do Canadians really think? According to an EKOS poll (sample of 10,000 surveyed) conducted in late May, a large number of Canadians has said the country is moving in the right direction.

See page 4 of the poll results to the question: "All things considered, would you say [the country/the Government of Canada] is moving in the right direction or the wrong direction?" 45% think the country is moving in the right direction.

http://www.ekospolitics.com/wp-content/upl...port-june-1.pdf

If positive reports on the economy continue to come in, that number is sure to increase.

So the question for Canadians will become "What do the Liberals offer that would be an improvement over the Conservatives?" Canadians have already signaled they don't want an election over EI reform.

Ignatieff said his party's policy platform will be ready this month. If the Conservatives plan to hold ribbon cutting parties over the summer, perhaps Iggy should use that time to introduce himself to more Canadians and to differentiate his policies from Harper's.

I can't see Ignatieff causing an election this summer lest he raise the anger of Canadians. If he waits till the fall, an improved economy might work against. Either way it's a crap shoot.

Well if 45% think the country is moving in the right direction, then 55% say its the wrong direction and that is why the Libs are leading in the polls.

[capricorn]

Well if 45% think the country is moving in the right direction, then 55% say its the wrong direction and that is why the Libs are leading in the polls.

Well, 12% replied they didn't know. Deduct 12 from 55 and that leaves 43% who replied that the country was not moving in the right decision, as opposed to the 45% who said the country is moving in the right direction.

[Smallc]

Well....I answered that the country was going in the right direction (mostly anyway), but that I wouldn't be voting Conservative...so even those numbers (on either side) can't be trusted.

[Jerry J. Fortin]

The numbers are just a pipe dream until the election is over.

[normanchateau]

"VANCOUVER - On a weekend when Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is reviewing the Tories' economic update to decide if it's worth supporting, a Nanos poll suggests Stephen Harper is in trouble.

Without prompting respondents, the poll asked Canadians to identify the Conservative government's main strengths and weaknesses.

Asked to define a strength, only 36% could do so. Stephen Harper himself was the most often cited Conservative strength (5%). But 45% weren't sure, and 19% said the Conservatives have no strengths at all.

Asked to define the Conservatives' main weakness, 65% named one (Harper at 11.6% was the top pick), 33% weren't sure, and only 3% said the government had no weaknesses.

Over all, the Nanos poll found that 36% of Canadians could define Conservative strengths, while 65% could define Conservative weaknesses. "

http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Federal-Po.../HarperTrouble/

"Perhaps most worrying for the Conservatives is that the main areas identified as weaknesses are those they have campaigned on in the past as strengths-- namely, Mr. Harper himself, transparency in government and their ability to get things done.

Mr. Harper has become a lightning rod for discontent with the government, with more than twice as many people saying he is a weakness as those identifying him as a strength."

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/st...html?id=1692947

[capricorn]

A new poll suggests Canadians are massively opposed to a federal election this summer.

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey says only 14 per cent of respondents want an election.

The poll says 78 per cent of those surveyed are opposed to an election, even as the minority Conservative government faces possible defeat this week.

Harris-Decima vice-president Jeff Walker says it's nothing new for people to tell pollsters they're against an election.

But compared with similar surveys over the years, he says, this reaction this is particularly strong.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianp...THUVQ40AFpyy0Ow

Everyone relax and enjoy your summer holidays.

[Jerry J. Fortin]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianp...THUVQ40AFpyy0Ow

Everyone relax and enjoy your summer holidays.

Always! I am one of the 14% who want an election.

[Smallc]

Canadians almost never want an election. Though I don't think that there will be one now, I doubt that those numbers were really a determining factor.

[Jerry J. Fortin]

Canadians almost never want an election. Though I don't think that there will be one now, I doubt that those numbers were really a determining factor.

The only determining factor is a confidence vote in the Commons. Harper will be required to buy the support of the Liberals with answers to questions, failing that Iggy says he will vote no confidence.

[capricorn]

Harper will be required to buy the support of the Liberals with answers to questions, failing that Iggy says he will vote no confidence.

Phew! That seems easy enough. For a minute, I thought Ignatieff would ask for concessions on policy, like universal hours as a qualification for EI.

[Smallc]

Ignatieff wants to see a plan for EI to see whether or not he approves of it. I don't know why some people are getting upset with Leader of the Official Opposition for doing his job.

[capricorn]

I don't know why some people are getting upset with Leader of the Official Opposition for doing his job.

It's probable that Ignatieff doesn't get it either.

[Smallc]

Why would he get it? He's doing the thing that people always say they want politicians to do and he's getting chastized by some for it. It really is nonsensical. Fortunately, enough people seem to respect what he's doing, since he has been able to propell his party upwards in the polls.

Edited June 16, 2009 by Smallc

[Jerry J. Fortin]

Why would he get it? He's doing the thing that people always say they want politicians to do and he's getting chastized by some for it. It really is nonsensical. Fortunately, enough people seem to respect what he's doing, since he has been able to propell his party upwards in the polls.

I agree with his overall strategy, and I think this tactic is very astute. It will be Harper that gets to decide whether or not there will be an election. He is being reasonable and doing what an opposition leader should be doing.

[ToadBrother]

I agree with his overall strategy, and I think this tactic is very astute. It will be Harper that gets to decide whether or not there will be an election. He is being reasonable and doing what an opposition leader should be doing.

He has certainly taken the initiative much more than Dion ever did. I actually think Iggy is a damned fine Opposition leader. Whether he'd make a good prime minister or not, well, I think at some point in the next six months we're going to find out.

[capricorn]

I agree with his overall strategy, and I think this tactic is very astute. It will be Harper that gets to decide whether or not there will be an election. He is being reasonable and doing what an opposition leader should be doing.

Yes, Ignatieff tries to show his reasonable and conciliatory side. But how astute is Ignatieff's strategy from a political viewpoint? He wants to be PM, but is he playing his cards right? Is he inadvertently handing Harper an advantage?

In a parliamentary system, it is not the role of the Official opposition to support the government. No one articulated that fact more clearly than Prime Minister Stephen Harper when he was Official opposition leader in 2004:

"The Leader of the Opposition's constitutional obligation -- the obligation to Parliament... is to make sure Canadians have an alternative for government," he told CBC Sunday Night's Evan Solomon just before the opening of the first -- and last -- session of Paul Martin's Liberal minority.

"Our primary responsibility is not to prop up the government, our responsibility is to provide an opposition and an alternative government for Parliament and for Canadians. What the government has to do, if it wants to govern for any length of time, is it must appeal primarily to the third parties in the House of Commons to get them to support it..."

Yet Official Opposition leader Michael Ignatieff is not only supporting the Conservative government, he's coaching it to produce policies and programs that could raise its popularity, chiefly at his expense.

At his Monday news conference, he kept demanding "clear answers" and "accountability," but insisted he was willing to "co-operate" and "consult" with his chief adversary too many times to count. Top priority, obviously, is his desire to avoid being blamed for not just a summer election, but the fourth election in five years.

---

There was more than just a whiff of Barack Obama's post-partisan appeals to American voters during last year's presidential campaign in Ignatieff's words and actions. And by promising co-operation if his basic conditions are met, he has deftly lobbed the consultation ball squarely into the prime minister's court.

But he could also be taking a huge risk, since it binds him ever tighter in the public's mind to his chief -- and increasingly unpopular -- political rival.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/c...s-48144557.html

It's been said before. Ignatieff and the Liberals need to differentiate themselves from the Conservatives, and convince Canadians they are a better alternative. Crafting policy for Conservatives to adopt won't give them traction.

[Smallc]

I disagree. I think Ignatieff knows exactly what he's doing. He is forcing Haper to make changes. After a while, people will wonder why they even need the middle man.

[madmax]

I disagree. I think Ignatieff knows exactly what he's doing. He is forcing Haper to make changes. After a while, people will wonder why they even need the middle man.

I believe Ignatieff has read the polls since May and jumped on the EI bandwagon.

To little..... too late....to opportunistic.....and certainly he is not going to have an election over.

And 14% for an election, means there are alot of Liberal Supporters not jumping up and down.

I do find it funny that all the boisterious CPC supporters, just a few short months ago were hopping up and down for another election. Seems there is alot of cold feet for an election.

Good poll, it supported some of the quick straw polls that were put out a few days ago.

The Liberals have read this poll too.. they may nominate candidates, but they aren't going to the doors.

[ToadBrother]

Yes, Ignatieff tries to show his reasonable and conciliatory side. But how astute is Ignatieff's strategy from a political viewpoint? He wants to be PM, but is he playing his cards right? Is he inadvertently handing Harper an advantage?

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/c...s-48144557.html

It's been said before. Ignatieff and the Liberals need to differentiate themselves from the Conservatives, and convince Canadians they are a better alternative. Crafting policy for Conservatives to adopt won't give them traction.

People keep trying to say this isn't astute, and yet it's the Liberals on the way up, and the Tories on the way down. I think it's very astute, because Iggy has twice now come off as being the man in charge. He forced Harper into providing regular updates on stimulus spending, and now Harper seems ready to talk about EI reform. In both cases, Harper started off claiming he was going to draw lines in the sand, and ultimately gave up ground. In strictly military terms, Harper has lost the initiative. He can only hang on to his key positions by essentially backing away from all the ancillary ones. It's very much a situation where if Iggy can keep it up, stay away from the polls for as long as possible, and yet make it very clear that he's THE force in Parliament, he defines himself as a leader.

The real problem here is that Harper has not adapted to the new Liberal leader. He keeps thinking he's dealing with Dion, and keeps getting ground down. Harper also has another huge problem, and that's a caucus that's no longer willing to tolerate his escapades. It almost seems like he makes a lot of noise when Iggy corners him, but a few days later, after his MPs have given him their mind, he's suddenly Mr. Friendly, very conciliatory, very reasonable. I suspect, particularly as far as EI reform is involved, it's because many members of the Tory caucus feel the EI inequities are a weak point for them, and they don't want to go into an election appearing as if they're backing a system that is screwing over their own constituents.

What I don't think the Conservatives (or the Bloc or the NDP) expected was that Iggy would so quickly cement his position. They assumed that the Liberals would be off balance for some time, and therein would lie a more secure parliament. Harper has in the last seven or eight months shown a woeful lack of understanding of his competitors, which is odd, because Harper has always been a lot of things, but I never took him for someone who could be that overconfident.