Posted on 02/10/2005 4:27:17 PM PST by UpHereEh
The same-sex marriage debate and an almost daily dose of AdScam could be having an effect on the fortunes of Canada's two main parties, a new poll suggests. Liberal voter support has slipped three points to 38% across the country, but they've lost a whopping 10% in vote-rich Ontario.
The Conservatives have gained three points nationally, rising to 29% and their support in Ontario has jumped six points to 32%.
The SES poll shows Grit support in the country's most populous province has plunged to 44%, compared to the 54% support it enjoyed in an SES poll last October.
Quebec is the only region where federal Liberal support grew in the latest poll --up four points to 36%. They still trail the Bloc by nine points.
SES pollster Nik Nanos is cautious about what's causing the swings in central Canada, saying it's likely to be a combination of factors.
"It could be that the Liberals might be picking up support in Quebec because of their position on same-sex (marriage) and then maybe the Conservatives (are) picking up a few more points in rural and small-town Ontario (for their opposition to it)," Nanos said.
The SES survey of 1,000 Canadians shows Jack Layton's New Democrats remaining steady nationally with 17% of voter support, followed by the Bloc Quebecois at 11%, based solely on its popularity in Quebec. The Green Party stands at 5%.
The number of uncommitted voters was 12%
The SES random telephone survey was conducted between Jan. 28 and Feb. 2 and is considered accurate within 3.1%, plus or minus, 19 times out of 20.
Sounds pretty accurate to me, well done.
C'est "Le Bloc"--the Quebecois (Quebecer) interest Party. ...sorta like a nationalist group that wants more control and stuff for Quebec, only. ...corrections from Canadians welcome, here.
Thanks for the explanations. I don't expect a lot of praise for American leadership coming out of Ontario anytime soon.
Non-Quebecois Canadians don't want Quebec to secede, you see, because they love the votes and other political support that comes from the Quebecois so much.
...little humor and irony there.
And no, we Americans don't want Quebec, thank you. You may keep it for yourselves. LOL!
"Doubt it, it's a regional separitist party in Quebec that consists mainly of french-speaking liberal minded socialists."
IF you think Bloc is separatist you don't understand Quebec. They will never seperate because they would not be economically sustainable as a nation. They know that and the know how to play it.
30% of the vote in Canada gives you more clout than 100% of the vote in an independent Quebec.
Dead on! Quebec wants to be a seperate country which by all means, don't let the door hit you on the way out. They had a referendum to seperate (among themselves) but if the vote would have been put to all of Canada they would have been long gone. The western provinces and the eastern maritimes want to seperate and leave Ontario and Quebec in the dust which just my happen sooner than we all think.
Not corrections here. Surprisingly you have a better grasp of the situation than some Canadians on this thread.
One can only hope!
That referendum was awfully close, obviously the province of Quebec is pretty clearly divided on the issue.
Another example of why parliamentary democracies differ from the one in America.
Yours is more complex, and arguably more democratic. Yet it gives extraordinary power to fringe parties in close elections, which is arguably far less democratic.
Hey Viking, I am from Canada and had to move to the U.S. because the patronage politics and games just made my head spin. At least in the U.S the Republicans have an element of conservatism, unlike the old conservative party which was basically Liberal-Lite. The new Conservative party freaked out a lot of Canadians because, well, they were conservative and not socialist. They still have about a third of the popular vote, the rest is split between the leftists and the socialists with a sprinkling of communists getting a pinch of support.
Canadas extreme liberalism can only be explained by their ardent desire to be seen as relevant and forward thinking... as well as a healthy dose of complacency among its citizenry.
I'm no expert on Canadian law, but I think the Senate is largely honorary and has little power.
Correct again, but I'll add that in addition to appointing senators, the governing party also appoints judges to the supreme court, and the bureaucracy including the CRTC and CBC. They run parliment, the courts and the media.
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