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Courtesy: Toronto Sun
By STAFF AND CP
Tories on the march
As Liberals ponder new leader and direction, poll suggests Conservative breakthrough
OTTAWA -- A new poll puts Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative minority government within sniffing distance of a majority.
The Decima survey, released yesterday, gives the federal Conservatives a 41% approval rating, while the leaderless Liberals slipped to 26% and the NDP hung in at 19%.
That breakdown, according to Decima Research, puts the Tories within reach of a majority government in the 308-seat House if an election were to be held today.
In the Jan. 23 election, the Conservatives won 36% of the popular vote, while the Liberals took 30%.
Despite the Tories' improvement, the current poll suggests a merger of the Liberal and New Democratic parties could also be an electoral winner.
The Decima poll found that 25% of Canadians believed the two parties should unite.
Voters who supported either of the two parties in last winter's election were even more receptive to the idea: 36% of Liberals favoured a merger and 32% of New Democrats.
Moreover, a Decima analysis of the 2006 election results suggests that had the two parties joined forces during last winter's election, they could have blocked the Conservatives from winning a minority government.
PITCH TO NDPERS
No Liberal leadership contender has so far advocated a merger of the two parties. But several of the perceived frontrunners, including Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae are making a pitch for voters who fled to the NDP in the Jan. 23 election.
Rae, a former NDP premier of Ontario, advocates uniting "progressive" voters while Ignatieff, a rookie Toronto MP, is urging the party to plant its flag firmly on the centre-left of the political spectrum.
The field will tilt a bit more to the left today, when Gerard Kennedy, former Ontario education minister and one-time food bank founder, formally joins the race. Although he is expected to cast himself as a centrist candidate, Kennedy's history of social activism appeals to many left-of-centre Liberals.
DRYDEN TO ENTER
The leftward tilt will become even more pronounced tomorrow when former hockey great Ken Dryden becomes the 10th candidate to enter the race. Dryden is the former social development minister who delivered on the Liberals' decade-old promise to create a national child-care program.
Only one candidate, Toronto-area MP Maurizio Bevilacqua has so far questioned the wisdom of shifting to the left, arguing the Liberals' electoral success has depended on its ability to monopolize the middle ground of Canadian politics.
However, the Decima poll suggests luring voters away from the NDP will be crucial if the Liberals hope to recapture power.
In the last election, Decima found 17% of Canadians voted strategically for a party that was not their first choice, motivated primarily by a desire to defeat the Liberals. More than one-quarter of those strategic voters cast ballots for the NDP.
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By STAFF AND CP
Tories on the march
As Liberals ponder new leader and direction, poll suggests Conservative breakthrough
OTTAWA -- A new poll puts Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative minority government within sniffing distance of a majority.
The Decima survey, released yesterday, gives the federal Conservatives a 41% approval rating, while the leaderless Liberals slipped to 26% and the NDP hung in at 19%.
That breakdown, according to Decima Research, puts the Tories within reach of a majority government in the 308-seat House if an election were to be held today.
In the Jan. 23 election, the Conservatives won 36% of the popular vote, while the Liberals took 30%.
Despite the Tories' improvement, the current poll suggests a merger of the Liberal and New Democratic parties could also be an electoral winner.
The Decima poll found that 25% of Canadians believed the two parties should unite.
Voters who supported either of the two parties in last winter's election were even more receptive to the idea: 36% of Liberals favoured a merger and 32% of New Democrats.
Moreover, a Decima analysis of the 2006 election results suggests that had the two parties joined forces during last winter's election, they could have blocked the Conservatives from winning a minority government.
PITCH TO NDPERS
No Liberal leadership contender has so far advocated a merger of the two parties. But several of the perceived frontrunners, including Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae are making a pitch for voters who fled to the NDP in the Jan. 23 election.
Rae, a former NDP premier of Ontario, advocates uniting "progressive" voters while Ignatieff, a rookie Toronto MP, is urging the party to plant its flag firmly on the centre-left of the political spectrum.
The field will tilt a bit more to the left today, when Gerard Kennedy, former Ontario education minister and one-time food bank founder, formally joins the race. Although he is expected to cast himself as a centrist candidate, Kennedy's history of social activism appeals to many left-of-centre Liberals.
DRYDEN TO ENTER
The leftward tilt will become even more pronounced tomorrow when former hockey great Ken Dryden becomes the 10th candidate to enter the race. Dryden is the former social development minister who delivered on the Liberals' decade-old promise to create a national child-care program.
Only one candidate, Toronto-area MP Maurizio Bevilacqua has so far questioned the wisdom of shifting to the left, arguing the Liberals' electoral success has depended on its ability to monopolize the middle ground of Canadian politics.
However, the Decima poll suggests luring voters away from the NDP will be crucial if the Liberals hope to recapture power.
In the last election, Decima found 17% of Canadians voted strategically for a party that was not their first choice, motivated primarily by a desire to defeat the Liberals. More than one-quarter of those strategic voters cast ballots for the NDP.
.