Canadian Political Polls

[eyeball]

Just over one-third of Canadians (35 per cent) favour Prime Minister Stephen Harper's party when it comes to family issues

So what? It should be obvious to everyone by now that Harper usually has the support of about 1/3 of Canadians no matter what the issue and just as usual less than two-thirds (65 per cent) don't support him.

It looks like just about 100% of Canadians have demonstrated, again, what they think but so what?

[capricorn]

It looks like just about 100% of Canadians have demonstrated, again, what they think but so what?

Well it's something to talk about while the yahoos on Parliament Hill play their games.

[capricorn]

The Nanos Research survey has the Tories at 36.6 per cent – up from 33.3 per cent in September. For the first time in several months, the Conservatives have a slight marginal advantage over the Liberals, who dipped to 32.4 per cent support from 32.8 per cent last month.

The NDP is tracking at 16.3 per cent compared to 15.6 per cent in September; the Bloc is at 9.8 per cent, having dropped from 12.1 per cent; and Elizabeth May’s Green Party is polling at 4.9 per cent, down from 6.2 per cent last month.

Nik Nanos revealed his poll on CTV’s Power Play Wednesday evening. The survey of 1,002 Canadians was conducted between Oct. 1 and Oct. 6.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/tories-edge-ahead-of-liberals-leaving-summer-woes-behind/article1755696/

In spite of the tidal wave of Conservative scandals uncovered by the opposition and diligently chronicled here on MLW, the Conservatives still have not been knocked out of first place. Maybe Canadians will really get up in arms over Canada's failed bid for a UNSC seat and how badly Canada's government under Harper is treating the UAE.

[Jerry J. Fortin]

Are we treating them badly?

[punked]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/tories-edge-ahead-of-liberals-leaving-summer-woes-behind/article1755696/

In spite of the tidal wave of Conservative scandals uncovered by the opposition and diligently chronicled here on MLW, the Conservatives still have not been knocked out of first place. Maybe Canadians will really get up in arms over Canada's failed bid for a UNSC seat and how badly Canada's government under Harper is treating the UAE.

You don't win elections on Foreign Policy ever. Poor Liberals though it all they have.

[Rick]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/101019/national/poll_tories

OTTAWA - A new poll suggests federal Conservatives and Liberals are locked in a dead heat, with neither party within range of a majority.

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey indicates the Tories were at 32 per cent, statistically tied with the Liberals at 30 per cent.

The NDP were at 14 per cent and the Greens at 10 nationally, while the Bloc Quebecois continued to dominate in Quebec.

That represents almost no change from a Harris-Decima poll in September.

That's discouraging news for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Tories, who need to expand their base if they're ever to form a majority government

In Quebec, the poll put Bloc support at 43 per cent, followed by the Liberals at 23, the Tories at 13, the NDP at 10 and the Greens at nine.

In Ontario, the Tories and Liberals were tied with 39 and 38 per cent respectively, followed by the NDP with 12 per cent and the Greens with 10.

The poll suggests British Columbia voters are volatile, with a massive Tory lead evaporating over the last few months. The Tories, NDP and Liberals were in a three-way race with 27, 26 and 25 per cent respectively, followed closely by the Greens at 17 per cent.

In Atlantic Canada, the Liberals led with 40 per cent to the Conservatives' 34, the NDP's 18 and the Greens' six.

It makes sense with the HOC back in session the voters start paying closer attention and realizing that the government's troubles didn't just disappear over the summer.

So what comes first this time.. an election or the PM asking the new GG to allow him to once more prorogue parliament in yet another desperate bid to retain his reign?

[nicky10013]

You don't win elections on Foreign Policy ever. Poor Liberals though it all they have.

So what does the NDP win elections on? Ohhhhhh, right...sorry.

[Topaz]

I like to ask any Tory supporter why the Tories should stay in power after the next election?

[Rick]

I like to ask any Tory supporter why the Tories should stay in power after the next election?

*crickets*

[punked]

So what does the NDP win elections on? Ohhhhhh, right...sorry.

Really "Scoreboard" you are are yelling scoreboard.

[Shakeyhands]

Whats the point of spending on public transport for stimulus, the only people it will employ are bus drivers. Not much point in taking the bus to work if you don't have a job to go to. so all those new buses and bus drivers would have been touring around town with close to empty buses, bet that would be good for the environment!

I don't know, I could save a ton of money if there was a workable transit system in the GTA that didn't take 2 hrs for a commute. Spin offs would include parking, variety kiosks etc... Seems to me that there are a few jobs and savings that could be made.

[Wild Bill]

I like to ask any Tory supporter why the Tories should stay in power after the next election?

Isn't it obvious? All the other guys smell worse!

[nicky10013]

Isn't it obvious? All the other guys smell worse!

Keep telling yourself that. No matter how bad the CPC, the other guys will always be worse. Always.

[nicky10013]

Whats the point of spending on public transport for stimulus, the only people it will employ are bus drivers. Not much point in taking the bus to work if you don't have a job to go to. so all those new buses and bus drivers would have been touring around town with close to empty buses, bet that would be good for the environment!

You do realize that just from the TTC, there have been orders for over 200 streetcars and 400 subway cars to the Bombardier plant in Sudbury. Then there's the order for 500 hybrid buses from the Orion/Daimler plant in Mississauga. Not to mention the construction work of expanding subway and streetcar lines. Though I shouldn't have to tell you this, you're a business man, afterall.

[Smallc]

Nor was spending on fighter jets

That money will not be spent for 5 years.

[Evening Star]

While I would never vote CPC, I can understand why someone would. They've at least been competent. It's easy for them to excuse the huge deficits by saying they were necessary to soften the blow of the recession and pointing to Canada's relatively strong economic performance. Note that I don't give the CPC credit for these things and even suspect ulterior motives for the deficit. I can, however, see how they could spin these things. They've lowered taxes, which makes people happy. And, furthermore, the Liberals have not offered a particularly compelling alternative vision. I'm not sure that they've offered a clear vision in any area other than foreign policy, where the differences between them and the CPC are real but not major enough to make a big difference in an election. They've mostly voted along with the CPC and the ideological difference between Ignatieff and Harper, at least the Harper that we've seen in power, are not huge. (I do think that with any other leader - Bob Rae, Ujjal Dosanjh, Gerard Kennedy, Dominic Leblanc, Justin Trudeau even - the Liberals could potentially be a much more compelling alternative.) As it is, the NDP and Bloc seem to be the parties who appear to offer something truly different and voters who are not prepared to go that far may find themselves backing the CPC.

[ToadBrother]

While I would never vote CPC, I can understand why someone would. They've at least been competent. It's easy for them to excuse the huge deficits by saying they were necessary to soften the blow of the recession and pointing to Canada's relatively strong economic performance. Note that I don't give the CPC credit for these things and even suspect ulterior motives for the deficit.

Let's be clear here. The whole economic stimulus program that stemmed out of the spring 2009 sitting happened because the Opposition forced it on the Tories. We now know that the Tories basically did this because the GG had told Harper "I'll prorogue Parliament as you request, but when you come back in a couple of months, you will produce a budget that the Opposition can support."

Actually, I guess we can thank Madame Jean for all that deficit spending from last year.

[Evening Star]

It did, you're right. However, the actual allocation and timing of the money, much of which was suspect from what I've read (in mainstream-to-right sources like Maclean's), was not the Opposition's call. (If more had gone to things like public transportation, more good might have been done.) Again, I've never claimed that the Liberals had especially better alternative ideas. Lowering taxes at the same time was also not the Opposition's ideas.

[Evening Star]

Nor was spending on fighter jets or prisons for unreported crimes.

[Alta4ever]

It did, you're right. However, the actual allocation and timing of the money, much of which was suspect from what I've read (in mainstream-to-right sources like Maclean's), was not the Opposition's call. (If more had gone to things like public transportation, more good might have been done.) Again, I've never claimed that the Liberals had especially better alternative ideas. Lowering taxes at the same time was also not the Opposition's ideas.

Whats the point of spending on public transport for stimulus, the only people it will employ are bus drivers. Not much point in taking the bus to work if you don't have a job to go to. so all those new buses and bus drivers would have been touring around town with close to empty buses, bet that would be good for the environment!

Edited October 21, 2010 by Alta4ever

[ToadBrother]

It did, you're right. However, the actual allocation and timing of the money, much of which was suspect from what I've read (in mainstream-to-right sources like Maclean's), was not the Opposition's call. (If more had gone to things like public transportation, more good might have been done.) Again, I've never claimed that the Liberals had especially better alternative ideas. Lowering taxes at the same time was also not the Opposition's ideas.

Oh BS. While we know why, we do know that Harper and Iggy had a nice little pre-Throne Speech chat and that there was a lot of coming and going between the two leaders leading up to the budget. I'd always assumed it was because the Tories had been chastened by the unpopularity of the prorogation, now I know it's because it was imposed on Harper.

[Evening Star]

OK, so it does appear that my hypothesis has some holes in it. But,

Oh BS. While we know why, we do know that Harper and Iggy had a nice little pre-Throne Speech chat and that there was a lot of coming and going between the two leaders leading up to the budget. I'd always assumed it was because the Tories had been chastened by the unpopularity of the prorogation, now I know it's because it was imposed on Harper.

What part was BS? That the Opposition didn't choose how the stimulus $ was allocated (http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/07/27/ottawas-stimulus-fiasco/) or that they didn't force tax cuts on the govt?

And it seems evident to me that public transportation infrastructure does have more long-lasting economic benefits than e.g. recreational complexes in comfortable neighbourhoods, not only for the reasons that were already given but also because it becomes easier for people to travel places in order to either work or spend. Besides, even the jobs that are created directly are public sector jobs that will be needed for a long time.

[Dithers]

You do realize that just from the TTC, there have been orders for over 200 streetcars and 400 subway cars to the Bombardier plant in Sudbury. Then there's the order for 500 hybrid buses from the Orion/Daimler plant in Mississauga. Not to mention the construction work of expanding subway and streetcar lines. Though I shouldn't have to tell you this, you're a business man, afterall.

It takes a special kind of businessman to be ignorant of the fact that GDP growth is slowed by transportation gridlock. Upgrading our rusty old public transportation is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

And then we get into the specific job growth it stimulates as well. Infrastructure is all good.

Edited October 21, 2010 by Dithers

[Dithers]

So what does the NDP win elections on? Ohhhhhh, right...sorry.

They are not a national governing party. Why bother?

[Wild Bill]

Keep telling yourself that. No matter how bad the CPC, the other guys will always be worse. Always.

Oh, I don't know! I've voted Liberal before and could see myself doing it again. Just not with Ignatieff and his present bunch!

There was a time when Liberals were Blue instead of left wing, you know!

It's important to understand that Canadian parties really don't have a fixed ideology. True, things have stayed pretty well on the right side with the Tories this past decade or so but they too have slipped a bit left towards the middle. Mulroney's party and that of Joe Clark was rather pink at times.

So if you hang around long enough everything changes! It's like the old joke about Vancouver weather - if you don't happen to like it then just wait a few minutes and it will change.

The Liberals and Conservatives are like a professional sports team. The players and coaching strategy changes drastically over the years but they always wear the same jerseys.

I guess what I'm really saying is that you can't keep judging a party by its words. It's actions can be widely at variance and that is the ONLY true measure!

I will state that I'm too old to ever likely to vote NDP before I die. Philosophically, I have never thought socialism to be a practical approach. Once again, it's the techie in me. I just don't see it working efficiently! What's more, the Canadian socialist party which is the NDP seems even more so. They talk about noble goals but rarely talk any practical way to achieve them, IMHO. They ignore reality and live on dreams. Worse yet, they've shown no signs of changing with the times. The NDP is NOT the party of Tony Blair! I'm talking federally, of course. Out west there are and have been practical NDP governments but they are nothing like their federal cousins.

So never say never, Nick! If the CPC were to revert to a Joe Clark approach at the same time as the Liberals choosing a leader more like Pearson and I would switch with no problem!

If you wanted to amend your premise to say that Wild Bill would always find leftwing parties to smell worse then I would agree with you.