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Canada opposition Conservatives take big lead - poll
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-16 15:27
Canada's opposition Conservatives have taken a huge lead over the ruling
Liberals and will have little trouble winning the January 23 election, a new
poll said late on Sunday.
The Strategic Counsel poll for CTV and Monday's Globe and Mail newspaper put
support for the Conservatives at 40 percent with the Liberals far behind at 27
percent.
The data shows that if the election were held now, the Liberals would be out
of office after 12 years in power. The only question would be whether the
Conservatives won a majority or a minority of the 308 seats in Parliament.
Canadian Conservative Party leader Stephen
Harper addresses supporters during an election campaign rally in
Buckingham, Quebec January 15,
2006.[Reuters] | "It's a Tory (Conservative)
juggernaut," the Strategic Counsel's Tim Woolstencroft told CTV.
The campaign started in late November when Liberal Prime Minister Paul
Martin's minority government was brought down over a kickback scandal.
Martin started with a slight lead but steadily lost ground amid a stumbling
campaign, fresh scandals and voter fatigue.
Last week the Liberals released a series of attack advertisements designed to
convince Canadians that Conservative leader Stephen Harper was a right-wing
extremist bent on curbing personal freedoms.
But the latest poll is evidence that the commercials had had no effect at
all.
Liberal leader and Canadian Prime Minister
Paul Martin (front L) greets deputy leader Anne McLellan (R) during a
rally in Edmonton, Canada January 15,
2006.[Reuters] | The figures show the Conservatives ahead of the Liberals by 40 points to 33
points in the populous central province of Ontario, traditionally a Liberal
stronghold.
And in the French-speaking province of Quebec, support for the Conservatives
has risen so fast that they are now second to the separatist Bloc Quebecois.
The kickback scandal involved some senior Liberals in Quebec and slashed
support for the party, boosting the fortunes of the Bloc. But the rise of the
Conservatives means the Bloc could even lose seats January 23 -- something
considered impossible just a week ago.
In Quebec the Bloc has public support of 43 percent, compared to 26 percent
for the Conservatives and just 17 percent for the Liberals.
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