What a hermit. Many Canadians spend too much time watching USA TV, we get all their channels all the time. This has an influence on people's opinions. Thus "someone from the govt," like Iggy says, has to respond. Not the PM, someone else in authority in that brain dead govt. American media noise is Canadian media noise, but not the other way round. So Iggy did the right thing.
Has Iggy lost his Groove?
- Thread starter Trex
- Start date
What a hermit. Many Canadians spend too much time watching USA TV, we get all their channels all the time. This has an influence on people's opinions. Thus "someone from the govt," like Iggy says, has to respond. Not the PM, someone else in authority in that brain dead govt. American media noise is Canadian media noise, but not the other way round. So Iggy did the right thing.
I'm sure Iggy and his supporters think so. The rest of us don't worry too much about the Americans. Really though, I do understand why this needs to be such an issue to you and Iggy. With the economy on the rebound (according to the B of C) you need to create bad news stories to try and reverse the growing popularity of the Cons that is inevitable. The sad thing for Canadians is that Harper is not competent and could be successfully attacked if only the opposition parties had a clue between them.
It isn't just the Tories, Martin killed a lot of social programs just so he could balance the budget. And indeed, all that time the Hypogrits were in power the healthcare system was allowed to deteriorate.
Right on the money, Cannuck.
Haven't had anyone competent for decades and I can't see that changing much.I just hope if Iggy does manage to topple Harpy, he doesn't treat running Canada like a hobby.
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He's right - the PM's job is to show up on US news shows to tell Canadians what's going on in their government....
And why does Harper feel the need to go to Amercan media to discuss Canadian issues can it be that he wants to defect to America.
I find it a little strange that Harper will answer Americans reporter's questions but will not answer Canadian reporter's questions here in Canada.
I find it a little strange that Harper will answer Americans reporter's questions but will not answer Canadian reporter's questions here in Canada.
The end of the road
TheStar.com | Canada | Schreiber in German jail
He loses last-ditch appeal to stay in Canada
Aug 03, 2009 04:30 AM
Nick Aveling
Staff Reporter
Karlheinz Schreiber was taken to prison in Germany today. He was extradited from Canada yesterday after losing a decade-long court battle.
Schreiber, a former arms-industry lobbyist and key figure in a political financing scandal involving former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, landed in Munich around 9:30 a.m. local time and was taken to a jail in nearby Augsburg, where prosecutors accuse him of bribery and tax evasion.
Officials will read Schreiber the arrest warrant against him on Tuesday and then bring him before a judge, who will decide whether to keep him in custody pending formal charges, Augsburg state court spokesman Karl-Heinz Haeusler said.
Earlier yesterday, Schreiber lost an emergency appeal in Superior Court after surrendering himself at the Toronto West Detention Centre.
"Mr. Schreiber has travelled a long road in fighting his extradition to Germany," Justice Barbara Ann Conway said yesterday in her ruling. "He is now at the end of that road."
Any Liberal leader worth his salt would have gotten to Justice Barbara Conway and kept Schreiber in Canada to keep the focus off of Liberal scandals and incompetence.
TheStar.com | Canada | Schreiber in German jail
He loses last-ditch appeal to stay in Canada
Aug 03, 2009 04:30 AM
Nick Aveling
Staff Reporter
Karlheinz Schreiber was taken to prison in Germany today. He was extradited from Canada yesterday after losing a decade-long court battle.
Schreiber, a former arms-industry lobbyist and key figure in a political financing scandal involving former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, landed in Munich around 9:30 a.m. local time and was taken to a jail in nearby Augsburg, where prosecutors accuse him of bribery and tax evasion.
Officials will read Schreiber the arrest warrant against him on Tuesday and then bring him before a judge, who will decide whether to keep him in custody pending formal charges, Augsburg state court spokesman Karl-Heinz Haeusler said.
Earlier yesterday, Schreiber lost an emergency appeal in Superior Court after surrendering himself at the Toronto West Detention Centre.
"Mr. Schreiber has travelled a long road in fighting his extradition to Germany," Justice Barbara Ann Conway said yesterday in her ruling. "He is now at the end of that road."
Any Liberal leader worth his salt would have gotten to Justice Barbara Conway and kept Schreiber in Canada to keep the focus off of Liberal scandals and incompetence.
Wow, the deporation of a man who figures in closely with a scandal involving a former Tory Prime Minister... even that gets twisted into anti-Liberal propoganda by the Tory war machine. Schreiber's deportation is the Liberals' fault... now I've heard everything.
If I'm given a reason (or better...reason's) that the Liberal Party would be a
better choice than any other Party, or any Independent's if any actually run
in the constituency that I vote in....then I would vote for the Liberal Party. 8O
If I'm given a reason (or better...reason's) that the some other Party would
be a better choice than the Liberal Party, or any Independent's if any actually run
in the constituency that I vote in....then I would vote for some other Party. 8O
If I'm given a reason (or better...reason's) that an Independent would be a better
choice than any of the Party's....then I would vote for an Independent if any actually
run in the constituency that I vote in....8O
Consistency isn't an insult. Consistency is an observation of past behavior.
If I'm incorrect, then please correct me on the 79/79 thing. Is it 80/80? 78/78?
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My only problem with consistency is when it is done blindly. If you openly and honestly critique your decision every time, and come to the same decision, fine. However, not many people do that. They vote, for example, Conservative, because Trudeau "screwed" Alberta in the 80's with the NEP (i.e. something that occured 30 years ago and 5 leaders ago - you know what - move on.), or worse yet, because the Liberals are "corrupt," (and under Chretien they were) yet they are more than willing to accept that same corruption, arrogance and incompetence from "their" party because it's "their" or some other such nonsense.
You tell me - what should Iggy do - what could the Liberal Party - or Green - or NDP - do to get you to consider voting for them?
You tell me - what should Iggy do - what could the Liberal Party - or Green - or NDP - do to get you to consider voting for them?
The Liberal Party is the natural choice for me but I usually find a reason not to vote for them. The first election I voted in was when Clark wanted to balance the budget. I couldn't (in all conscience) vote against that. I also, being libertarian, could never vote for Trudeau. Turner was far too weak to be a leader and I held my nose and voted for Mulroney. I was not satisfied with the job Mulroney did but I did support free trade so I held my nose and voted Conservative again. In '93, I really wanted to vote none of the above as Chretien was too much of a Trudeau liberal, I was tired of the Cons and the Dippers just aren't a credible alternative. I ended up voting Reform because of Mannings view that the MPs should represent their constituents and not their parties. I voted Reform again in 97 out of spite because of being labeled a backwards redneck for supporting them the last time. I could not vote for Day or Chretien in 2000 and while Clark was a ridiculously weak leader, I voted for him again. In 2004 I voted for Martin because, for the first time, a Liberal leader didn't give me a reason not to. Oh well, I've voted Green the last two. Iggy could have had my vote but I think the job he's done as OOL has been so incredibly underwhelming that I just can't see him being a decent PM. There are lots of Liberal out there that I would support. If Iggy resigned today and Frank McKenna took over, my vote would be sewn up.
Reasoning takes too much of my energy for a bunch of stooges who are all tarred with the same brush. BEst way is just to flip a coin and hold your nose.
Iggy, the Liberal messiah, can't seem to find his groove.
Canada ruling Conservatives retake lead in new poll
Thu Aug 6, 2009 10:26am EDT
OTTAWA, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Canada's governing Conservatives have regained a narrow lead in public opinion over the main opposition Liberals, but would struggle to win an election now, according to a weekly poll released on Thursday.
The Ekos survey for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp put the Conservatives at 34.9 percent support, up from 32.5 percent last week. The Liberals were at 31.9 percent, down from 34.1 percent.
The poll is the latest in a series of surveys showing the two main parties virtually deadlocked.
The Liberals are threatening to present a motion of non-confidence in the government when Parliament returns in late September but would stand little chance of victory even as a minority government in the ensuing election, the survey indicates.
"For weeks now, the Liberals and Conservatives have had barely any room between them, and neither can claim any momentum," Ekos said in a statement.
No party looks capable of hitting the 37 percent level of support that would give it a good chance of capturing at least a minority government.
The Conservatives won a strengthened minority in last October's election but have lost popular support as the economic crisis hit and the Liberals accused them of not doing enough to help Canadians who were most affected.
Ekos also said that 86 percent of Canadians thought the country was in some kind of recession or depression.
The Ekos automated telephone survey of 2,025 decided adult voters was conducted between July 29 and Aug. 4 and is considered accurate to within 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Peter Galloway)
Canada ruling Conservatives retake lead in new poll
Thu Aug 6, 2009 10:26am EDT
OTTAWA, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Canada's governing Conservatives have regained a narrow lead in public opinion over the main opposition Liberals, but would struggle to win an election now, according to a weekly poll released on Thursday.
The Ekos survey for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp put the Conservatives at 34.9 percent support, up from 32.5 percent last week. The Liberals were at 31.9 percent, down from 34.1 percent.
The poll is the latest in a series of surveys showing the two main parties virtually deadlocked.
The Liberals are threatening to present a motion of non-confidence in the government when Parliament returns in late September but would stand little chance of victory even as a minority government in the ensuing election, the survey indicates.
"For weeks now, the Liberals and Conservatives have had barely any room between them, and neither can claim any momentum," Ekos said in a statement.
No party looks capable of hitting the 37 percent level of support that would give it a good chance of capturing at least a minority government.
The Conservatives won a strengthened minority in last October's election but have lost popular support as the economic crisis hit and the Liberals accused them of not doing enough to help Canadians who were most affected.
Ekos also said that 86 percent of Canadians thought the country was in some kind of recession or depression.
The Ekos automated telephone survey of 2,025 decided adult voters was conducted between July 29 and Aug. 4 and is considered accurate to within 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Peter Galloway)
Iggy's a patient guy, no need to rush into an election where he'ld squeak out a slim minority government. By waiting another year or two the economy will soften voters up to voting liberal and he will have a stronger minority and potentially a majority if he waits long enough. Who wants to run a slim minority government?
I'm going to venture out on a limb right now and predict Iggy will NEVER be Prime Minister. Ya got that S.J.? :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
Campbell Clark
Ottawa — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009 09:53AM EDT
Look where Michael Ignatieff is now – right where Stéphane Dion was just over a year ago.
Two points behind the Tories in the polls, perhaps just a few months from an election, and so far unable to convert the groups of potential supporters – young, female, and urban – that Liberals typically need to win.
Mr. Dion's election debacle was followed by a further slide in the polls, to 24 per cent.
Mr. Ignatieff, as the new opposition leader, took the Liberals up to 35 per cent in May, and has drifted slightly down since.
His party now trails Stephen Harper's Conservatives by two percentage points, 32 to 34, according to a Strategic Counsel poll published in The Globe and Mail Tuesday .
But in June, 2008, the same pollster found Mr. Dion only two points behind .
That was before his Green Shift policy and a weak performance, exploited by Conservative ads, led 800,000 Liberal supporters to stay at home on voting day.
Mr. Ignatieff has returned the party's traditional core support levels – and revived it in Quebec – but the Strategic Counsel poll found they have lost the traditional edge among women, younger voters, and Canadians who live in cities and large towns, crucial to their hopes of victory. The NDP vote has remained firm.
“The Liberals have plateaued,” said The Strategic Counsel's Peter Donolo.
“The constituency that Ignatieff needs to rebuild is primarily more female, more urban, younger, centre and NDP voters.”
But those who don't back Liberals by reflex just haven't seen a reason to yet.
Some of Mr. Ignatieff's own advisers admit he has yet to offer a clear, defined political identity to grab them.
“They don't know who this guy is, and what he stands for,” said one, who only spoke on the condition that he not be named.
Most Liberals are wary of filling the gap by putting out detailed policy platforms, fearing it will make the same kind of target that Mr. Dion's Green Shift plan did, when it was released months before the campaign.
But they also fear Mr. Ignatieff hasn't given tentative voters any sense of his identity, and how it differs from Mr. Harper's.
One Liberal strategist noted that Jean Chrétien's winning 1993 campaign included policy details, but what mattered was the core message that he stood for jobs and growth.
“It was, ‘Buy me, and this is what you get. Jobs and growth,' ” the strategist said. “If you buy Liberal now, what do you get?”
Mr. Harper's Conservatives, under minority-Parliament pressure, have unveiled massive stimulus-spending packages, at the Liberals' insistence.
It has left Liberals searching for something to differentiate them.
The Liberals could view this as a reason to shift left, but most believe the perception that Mr. Dion's move left had opened them to Conservative attacks for the centre.
“Tacking left is almost too simplistic an approach,” Mr. Donolo said.
“You can represent values without being either right or left. You can polarize the vote over Stephen Harper without being doctrinaire.”
One chance that he and others cited as a lost opportunity for Mr. Ignatieff was the United States debate on health-care reforms.
When U.S. conservatives criticized Canadian medicare to attack President Barack Obama's plan, Mr. Ignatieff could have leapt to its defence to portray himself as champion of the Canadian institution.
Mr. Ignatieff's call on the government to review the sale of Nortel assets to a foreign buyer was cited by one adviser as that kind of values-defining sortie – a “Captain Canada” position – though Liberal critics say he should have done it sooner, and stronger.
His most noted stand, Mr. Ignatieff's call for national, lower qualifications for employment insurance, has some of his MPs fearing it will backfire.
“Eight per cent of my constituents are unemployed, but 92 per cent are working,” said one MP. “And they don't think that warmly of employment insurance.”
Ottawa — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009 09:53AM EDT
Look where Michael Ignatieff is now – right where Stéphane Dion was just over a year ago.
Two points behind the Tories in the polls, perhaps just a few months from an election, and so far unable to convert the groups of potential supporters – young, female, and urban – that Liberals typically need to win.
Mr. Dion's election debacle was followed by a further slide in the polls, to 24 per cent.
Mr. Ignatieff, as the new opposition leader, took the Liberals up to 35 per cent in May, and has drifted slightly down since.
His party now trails Stephen Harper's Conservatives by two percentage points, 32 to 34, according to a Strategic Counsel poll published in The Globe and Mail Tuesday .
But in June, 2008, the same pollster found Mr. Dion only two points behind .
That was before his Green Shift policy and a weak performance, exploited by Conservative ads, led 800,000 Liberal supporters to stay at home on voting day.
Mr. Ignatieff has returned the party's traditional core support levels – and revived it in Quebec – but the Strategic Counsel poll found they have lost the traditional edge among women, younger voters, and Canadians who live in cities and large towns, crucial to their hopes of victory. The NDP vote has remained firm.
“The Liberals have plateaued,” said The Strategic Counsel's Peter Donolo.
“The constituency that Ignatieff needs to rebuild is primarily more female, more urban, younger, centre and NDP voters.”
But those who don't back Liberals by reflex just haven't seen a reason to yet.
Some of Mr. Ignatieff's own advisers admit he has yet to offer a clear, defined political identity to grab them.
“They don't know who this guy is, and what he stands for,” said one, who only spoke on the condition that he not be named.
Most Liberals are wary of filling the gap by putting out detailed policy platforms, fearing it will make the same kind of target that Mr. Dion's Green Shift plan did, when it was released months before the campaign.
But they also fear Mr. Ignatieff hasn't given tentative voters any sense of his identity, and how it differs from Mr. Harper's.
One Liberal strategist noted that Jean Chrétien's winning 1993 campaign included policy details, but what mattered was the core message that he stood for jobs and growth.
“It was, ‘Buy me, and this is what you get. Jobs and growth,' ” the strategist said. “If you buy Liberal now, what do you get?”
Mr. Harper's Conservatives, under minority-Parliament pressure, have unveiled massive stimulus-spending packages, at the Liberals' insistence.
It has left Liberals searching for something to differentiate them.
The Liberals could view this as a reason to shift left, but most believe the perception that Mr. Dion's move left had opened them to Conservative attacks for the centre.
“Tacking left is almost too simplistic an approach,” Mr. Donolo said.
“You can represent values without being either right or left. You can polarize the vote over Stephen Harper without being doctrinaire.”
One chance that he and others cited as a lost opportunity for Mr. Ignatieff was the United States debate on health-care reforms.
When U.S. conservatives criticized Canadian medicare to attack President Barack Obama's plan, Mr. Ignatieff could have leapt to its defence to portray himself as champion of the Canadian institution.
Mr. Ignatieff's call on the government to review the sale of Nortel assets to a foreign buyer was cited by one adviser as that kind of values-defining sortie – a “Captain Canada” position – though Liberal critics say he should have done it sooner, and stronger.
His most noted stand, Mr. Ignatieff's call for national, lower qualifications for employment insurance, has some of his MPs fearing it will backfire.
“Eight per cent of my constituents are unemployed, but 92 per cent are working,” said one MP. “And they don't think that warmly of employment insurance.”
The fact that Tory supporters are trumpeting a two percentage point lead during politically quiet time speaks volumes to what they think their chances are next election... "Woohoo! Quite possibly yet another minority!!!!!"
Re: Claims of Liberal Failure
Oh, joy! :lol: Just gotta love ‘em minority governments.
(I do enjoy them, but only because I love constitutional study, and there is no better time for such study for Canadians than during unstable minority governments, hehe.) Nonetheless, I would hope that the performances of Mr. Michael Ignatieff M.P. (Etobicoke—Lakeshore), the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, very much improve. The Liberal Party of Canada needs to bring some charisma onto the front benches of the House of Commons team, and inspire Canadians to move forward—that doesn’t seem to be the case on either side of the House (‘charisma’ seems to be an antonym for ‘conservative’, doesn’t it?).
I remain dumbfounded at the fact that the Liberals would have chosen Mr. Ignatieff—neither a member of Her Majesty The Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, nor a member of any of the executive counsels of the provinces, as a party leader. It would have made much more sense, for me, to have chosen a member of the Liberal Party with at least some modicum of ministerial experience, with such a considerable and charismatic pool of talent before them.
But two per cent cited as success? I doubt it.
Oh, joy! :lol: Just gotta love ‘em minority governments.
(I do enjoy them, but only because I love constitutional study, and there is no better time for such study for Canadians than during unstable minority governments, hehe.) Nonetheless, I would hope that the performances of Mr. Michael Ignatieff M.P. (Etobicoke—Lakeshore), the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, very much improve. The Liberal Party of Canada needs to bring some charisma onto the front benches of the House of Commons team, and inspire Canadians to move forward—that doesn’t seem to be the case on either side of the House (‘charisma’ seems to be an antonym for ‘conservative’, doesn’t it?).
I remain dumbfounded at the fact that the Liberals would have chosen Mr. Ignatieff—neither a member of Her Majesty The Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, nor a member of any of the executive counsels of the provinces, as a party leader. It would have made much more sense, for me, to have chosen a member of the Liberal Party with at least some modicum of ministerial experience, with such a considerable and charismatic pool of talent before them.
But two per cent cited as success? I doubt it.
Sunday, August 23, 2009Harper’s Tories open big lead over Liberals, poll says
Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News Service
OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives have surged to a big lead over the opposition Liberals in the eyes of Canadian voters, reveals a new poll, a trend that could dampen speculation of a fall election.
In a discouraging sign for the Liberals, party leader Michael Ignatieff trails the prime minister on bread-and-butter issues at the forefront of many Canadians' minds, such as the ability to steer the economy through recovery and rebalance the country's finances. If the trend continues, Ignatieff could soon be facing roughly the same poll numbers as his beleaguered predecessor, Stephane Dion.
The Conservatives now command 39% in support among decided voters, compared with 28% for the Liberals, according to the survey, conducted exclusively for Canwest News Service and Global National by Ipsos Reid. Since the last Ipsos poll two months ago, the Tories have climbed five percentage points, while the Grits have slumped seven points.
The NDP stand in third at 14% of the vote, up one point; followed by the Green party at 10%, up two points. The Bloc Quebecois posted 8% in support nationally, while 7% of respondents were undecided.
The poll comes amid speculation that the government could fall shortly after Parliament returns from summer break on Sept. 14. Last spring, Harper and Ignatieff averted a summer election by agreeing to form a bipartisan working group to study employment insurance reforms, but the panel hasn't agreed on much.
The Liberals will have the opportunity as early as Sept. 30 to table a non-confidence motion in the government. Both the NDP and the Bloc have indicated they would not prop up the Conservatives.
But Ipsos pollster Darrell Bricker said the Liberals would be better advised to hold their fire and give Ignatieff, a former journalist and Harvard academic who returned to Canada to run for Parliament in the 2006 election, more time to build a national profile. According to the poll, 49% of Canadians believe the Liberals are not ready to govern the country, compared with 47% who do.
"The problem is that people don't really know him very well. Even the people who want to be supportive are somewhat tentative," said Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Reid Public Affairs.
The poll suggests Ignatieff is having trouble gaining traction on key issues. Asked which leader is best qualified to "improve the national economy," 48% chose Harper, compared with 40% for Ignatieff. The prime minister also leads Ignatieff on "managing Canada's finances" (49% to 37%), and "representing Canada's interests in world affairs" (48% to 41%). The only issue on which Ignatieff leads is "protecting the environment" (45% to 41%).
When Ignatieff replaced Dion last December as leader, the Grits were languishing at 23% in support. But the Liberals' resurgence has stalled this summer, as signs emerge that the recession is coming to an end. Although he has travelled coast to coast this summer, Ignatieff has been criticized for not being visible enough and for failing to articulate any major policy ideas.
Bricker said Ignatieff needs to come up with some policy issues soon that will allow the Liberals to differentiate themselves from the Conservatives. "You don't want to peak too soon, but you have to peak at some point," he said. "We've seen how the peek-a-boo strategy works. If you're not there, you're not there."
Regionally, the Conservatives now lead the Liberals in vote-rich Ontario by 43% to 31%. The Tories have also seen their fortunes improve in Quebec, where they had previously been in free fall. The Bloc Quebecois lead with 35%, followed by the Liberals at 29% and the Conservatives with 20%.
In Atlantic Canada, the Grits lead the Tories by 34% to 32%. The Conservatives are ahead in the Prairies with 57%, followed by the NDP with 25%. The Tories continue to dominate Alberta at 64%, followed far behind by the Grits at 21%. In British Columbia, the Conservatives lead the Liberals, 38% to 27%.
The Ipsos poll was conducted by phone Aug. 18-20 and has a sample size of 1,001 respondents. It is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Regional voting figures have significantly larger margins of error.
Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News Service
OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives have surged to a big lead over the opposition Liberals in the eyes of Canadian voters, reveals a new poll, a trend that could dampen speculation of a fall election.
In a discouraging sign for the Liberals, party leader Michael Ignatieff trails the prime minister on bread-and-butter issues at the forefront of many Canadians' minds, such as the ability to steer the economy through recovery and rebalance the country's finances. If the trend continues, Ignatieff could soon be facing roughly the same poll numbers as his beleaguered predecessor, Stephane Dion.
The Conservatives now command 39% in support among decided voters, compared with 28% for the Liberals, according to the survey, conducted exclusively for Canwest News Service and Global National by Ipsos Reid. Since the last Ipsos poll two months ago, the Tories have climbed five percentage points, while the Grits have slumped seven points.
The NDP stand in third at 14% of the vote, up one point; followed by the Green party at 10%, up two points. The Bloc Quebecois posted 8% in support nationally, while 7% of respondents were undecided.
The poll comes amid speculation that the government could fall shortly after Parliament returns from summer break on Sept. 14. Last spring, Harper and Ignatieff averted a summer election by agreeing to form a bipartisan working group to study employment insurance reforms, but the panel hasn't agreed on much.
The Liberals will have the opportunity as early as Sept. 30 to table a non-confidence motion in the government. Both the NDP and the Bloc have indicated they would not prop up the Conservatives.
But Ipsos pollster Darrell Bricker said the Liberals would be better advised to hold their fire and give Ignatieff, a former journalist and Harvard academic who returned to Canada to run for Parliament in the 2006 election, more time to build a national profile. According to the poll, 49% of Canadians believe the Liberals are not ready to govern the country, compared with 47% who do.
"The problem is that people don't really know him very well. Even the people who want to be supportive are somewhat tentative," said Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Reid Public Affairs.
The poll suggests Ignatieff is having trouble gaining traction on key issues. Asked which leader is best qualified to "improve the national economy," 48% chose Harper, compared with 40% for Ignatieff. The prime minister also leads Ignatieff on "managing Canada's finances" (49% to 37%), and "representing Canada's interests in world affairs" (48% to 41%). The only issue on which Ignatieff leads is "protecting the environment" (45% to 41%).
When Ignatieff replaced Dion last December as leader, the Grits were languishing at 23% in support. But the Liberals' resurgence has stalled this summer, as signs emerge that the recession is coming to an end. Although he has travelled coast to coast this summer, Ignatieff has been criticized for not being visible enough and for failing to articulate any major policy ideas.
Bricker said Ignatieff needs to come up with some policy issues soon that will allow the Liberals to differentiate themselves from the Conservatives. "You don't want to peak too soon, but you have to peak at some point," he said. "We've seen how the peek-a-boo strategy works. If you're not there, you're not there."
Regionally, the Conservatives now lead the Liberals in vote-rich Ontario by 43% to 31%. The Tories have also seen their fortunes improve in Quebec, where they had previously been in free fall. The Bloc Quebecois lead with 35%, followed by the Liberals at 29% and the Conservatives with 20%.
In Atlantic Canada, the Grits lead the Tories by 34% to 32%. The Conservatives are ahead in the Prairies with 57%, followed by the NDP with 25%. The Tories continue to dominate Alberta at 64%, followed far behind by the Grits at 21%. In British Columbia, the Conservatives lead the Liberals, 38% to 27%.
The Ipsos poll was conducted by phone Aug. 18-20 and has a sample size of 1,001 respondents. It is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Regional voting figures have significantly larger margins of error.