SPEAKER’S RULING MAY NOT TEMPT ANY PARTY TO FORCE AN ELECTION

[Ottawa – April 29, 2010] - There is again talk of a parliamentary showdown, following this week’s ruling by the Speaker of the House of Commons on the release of documents relating to the Afghan detainees. But the last poll taken before the ruling suggests there are reasons for both the two major parties to be wary of any brinksmanship that might force an election.

While the Conservatives are in first place, they continue to track well below their performance in the last election with less that a third of Canadians… [More...]

Posted on April 29th, 2010 under National Results. Comments: 7

[Ottawa – April 23, 2010] - In the course of an interview with the Globe and Mail columnist, Lawrence Martin, this week, I made some suggestions for a strategic course that presented itself to the federal Liberal Party.

My intention was to foment debate. However, I used incendiary language that had not been carefully enough considered. I recognize now that my stark language was understandably offensive to some Canadians.

In that light, I wish to retract my remarks and unreservedly apologize for making them.

Unfortunately, my comments have led to some misunderstanding about me and EKOS Research Associates, of which I am founder… [More...]

Posted on April 23rd, 2010 under Uncategorized. Comments: 11

PARADOXICALLY, LIBERALS DECLINE

[Ottawa – April 22, 2010] - As quickly as it appeared, the Guergis affair appears to be disappearing as a political factor. It’s not that Canadians aren’t noticing or don’t think it’s serious. About 40% of Canadians aren’t following this issue, but the rest are with at nearly one in five paying close attention. So not as riveting in the rest of the country as it is North of the Queensway in Ottawa, but it certainly is registering with a large number of voters.

Here is where it gets more confusing.

Of the 60% of Canadians who are following the… [More...]

Posted on April 22nd, 2010 under National Results. Comments: None

GUERGIS EFFECT DISAPPEARS

[Ottawa – April 22, 2010] - If the Liberals were briefly vaulted into a virtual tie with the Conservatives on the strength of public outrage over the Guergis affair, they have been restored to their previous position in a short week.

We continue to see the virtually unprecedented situation of an electorate which has, for 16 consecutive polls, failed to anoint any party with more than 33 points. And while the Conservatives may take some comfort at a little new breathing space, at 32 points, they are far short of where they were when they were in the last… [More...]

Posted on April 22nd, 2010 under National Results. Comments: 2

BUT PREVENTION STILL MORE IMPORTANT

[Ottawa – April 19, 2010] - This report is part of an ongoing program to test how Canadians are arrayed on a dimension of social conservatism versus progressive attitudes. Our research is aimed at not only trying to understand where Canadians stand today, but how things are evolving. This research is an attempt to provide a more formal assessment of some of the theses recently put forward by Preston Manning that Canadian society was drifting to the right.

This week, we examined the issue of how people view the ultimate goal of the criminal justice system. As… [More...]

Posted on April 19th, 2010 under National Results. Comments: 1

TORIES REDUCED TO INSIGNIFICANT LEAD

[Ottawa – April 15, 2010] - Following a protracted period of stability in which the Conservative Party enjoyed a small but stable lead, this week’s poll shows the Liberal Party back in an almost neck and neck position.

In the first good poll in months for Michael Ignatieff’s beleaguered Liberal Party, the pattern of gradually falling further behind the Tories has been abruptly disrupted. Last week’s 6-point lead is now only 2 points, which is not a statistically significant difference. What is more revealing is the daily pattern which shows the Liberals and Conservatives virtually tied this… [More...]

Posted on April 15th, 2010 under National Results. Comments: 2

[Ottawa – April 8, 2010] - This week, we examined public response to the possibility of eliminating federal pension benefits to those in federal prisons. The question asked whether respondents favoured eliminating these benefits altogether, eliminating them for only those prisoners serving life sentences, or continuing to allow all federal inmates to collect pensions.

Even without mentioning the nefarious Clifford Olson, the results show scant willingness for the public to consider the legal or human rights of federal prisoners to receive their federal pensions. Only 17% support the status quo, where prisoners are entitled to receive their federal pensions. Of those… [More...]

Posted on April 8th, 2010 under National Results. Comments: 1

CANADIANS CONTINUE TO OPPOSE BOTH THE AFGHANISTAN MISSION AND AN EXTENSION

[Ottawa – April 8, 2010] - Because of this week’s relatively short data collection period (we did not survey on Good Friday or Easter Monday), our sample size is much smaller than usual. The results show no significant changes from last week. The political scene remains frozen, with no party able to garner the support of more than a third of voters.

Since the issue of the war in Afghanistan was raised once again with the visit of Hillary Clinton, we also tested attitudes to both the current military mission and… [More...]

Posted on April 8th, 2010 under National Results. Comments: None

LAYTON/HARPER FAVOURED OVER IGNATIEFF IN BEER POLL

[Ottawa – April 1, 2010] - So, you’ve had a tough April Fool’s Day and you’ve decided to knock off and head out for a beer. Now, you’ve got a choice of companions. Who’s it going to be? Stephen Harper, Michael Ignatieff or Jack Layton?

Canadians have spoken in a poll conducted for release by the Power and Politics program on CBC News Network.

Whether or not Canadians want him running the country, Jack Layton is Canadians’ number one choice. Not surprisingly, he is favoured by New Democrats, but also by a lot of Bloquiste voters… [More...]

Posted on April 1st, 2010 under National Results. Comments: None

NO CHANGE OVER THE DECADE

[Ottawa – April 1, 2010] - A majority of Canadians describe themselves as leaning pro-choice with regard to abortion. A little more than a quarter prefer “pro-life”, with the remainder undecided.

This finding of a 2-1 margin in favour of the pro-choice position is almost unchanged from the answers Canadians gave to the identical question a decade ago.

The lean to pro-choice holds true across virtually all demographic groups, although the margin is less clear with Conservative supporters and seniors. Among urbanites and the more educated, the pro-choice preference is overwhelming. Interestingly, there is no significant difference on… [More...]

Posted on April 1st, 2010 under National Results. Comments: 3