Conservatives, and their budget, get passing grade in Decima and Leger polls
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OTTAWA (CP) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government is riding high in public opinion surveys, notwithstanding a couple of hiccups over its treatment of fallen soldiers in Afghanistan and the news media generally.
A poll by Decima Research found the Tories' first budget and the government's deal to settle the softwood lumber dispute both won over more voters than they turned off.
Those issues helped offset negative public reaction to the handling of Afghan mission casualties - with reaction more negative than positive in every region of Canada except Alberta - and to the government's management of its relationship with the news media.
The end result?
Decima put Conservative support for the period May 4-7 at 41 per cent nationally, the Liberals at 29, the NDP at 16 and the Bloc Quebecois at 10.
A Leger Marketing poll, also released Tuesday to The Canadian Press, found similar support in its May 2-7 survey. Leger pegged the Tories at 40 per cent nationally, followed by the Liberals at 30, New Democrats at 13, the Bloc at nine and the Green party at seven per cent.
In Quebec, where Harper has focused so much of his minority government's early energy in an effort to position it for a majority win in the next election, both Decima and Leger had more favourable news for the Conservatives.
Decima put the Bloc at 42 per cent in Quebec, the Tories at 28 and the Liberals at 17.
Leger's Quebec numbers: Bloc 36 per cent; Tories 29; Liberals 22.
The Leger poll involved 1,503 Canadians and is considered accurate within 2.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The Decima survey had 1,008 respondents and an accuracy of plus or minus 3.1 per cent, 19 times in 20.
"It's a real honeymoon between Canadians and Stephen Harper," said Jean-Marc Leger, president of Leger Marketing, who believes the numbers would have translated into a Tory majority government had an election been held during the polling period.
"With that kind of result, he could start to think about having an election here in Canada because he could win a majority government."
The Leger poll suggested 62 per cent of Canadians were satisfied with the Harper government, while 27 per cent were dissatisfied - and that the highest satisfaction levels were in Alberta (77 per cent) and Quebec (72 per cent).
And Leger found that just over half those polled (51 per cent) expressed satisfaction with the recent Harper budget, while 26 per cent were dissatisfied.
That corresponded to Decima's survey, which went a couple of steps further.
Thirty-two per cent of those polled said the budget makes them more likely to support the Tories, compared to 20 per cent who say it makes them less likely. Another 37 per cent were unmoved.
On softwood, the support was 29-17, with 41 per cent unmoved.
But when asked about Harper's decision to limit coverage of dead soldiers returning to Canada, 36 per cent told Decima it made them less likely to vote Tory, while 18 per cent liked the decision and 36 per cent said it had no impact.
On Harper's handling of the media generally, 27 per cent viewed it as a negative while 17 per cent said it made them more likely to vote Conservative, and 46 per cent were unmoved.
©The Canadian Press, 2006
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OTTAWA (CP) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government is riding high in public opinion surveys, notwithstanding a couple of hiccups over its treatment of fallen soldiers in Afghanistan and the news media generally.
A poll by Decima Research found the Tories' first budget and the government's deal to settle the softwood lumber dispute both won over more voters than they turned off.
Those issues helped offset negative public reaction to the handling of Afghan mission casualties - with reaction more negative than positive in every region of Canada except Alberta - and to the government's management of its relationship with the news media.
The end result?
Decima put Conservative support for the period May 4-7 at 41 per cent nationally, the Liberals at 29, the NDP at 16 and the Bloc Quebecois at 10.
A Leger Marketing poll, also released Tuesday to The Canadian Press, found similar support in its May 2-7 survey. Leger pegged the Tories at 40 per cent nationally, followed by the Liberals at 30, New Democrats at 13, the Bloc at nine and the Green party at seven per cent.
In Quebec, where Harper has focused so much of his minority government's early energy in an effort to position it for a majority win in the next election, both Decima and Leger had more favourable news for the Conservatives.
Decima put the Bloc at 42 per cent in Quebec, the Tories at 28 and the Liberals at 17.
Leger's Quebec numbers: Bloc 36 per cent; Tories 29; Liberals 22.
The Leger poll involved 1,503 Canadians and is considered accurate within 2.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The Decima survey had 1,008 respondents and an accuracy of plus or minus 3.1 per cent, 19 times in 20.
"It's a real honeymoon between Canadians and Stephen Harper," said Jean-Marc Leger, president of Leger Marketing, who believes the numbers would have translated into a Tory majority government had an election been held during the polling period.
"With that kind of result, he could start to think about having an election here in Canada because he could win a majority government."
The Leger poll suggested 62 per cent of Canadians were satisfied with the Harper government, while 27 per cent were dissatisfied - and that the highest satisfaction levels were in Alberta (77 per cent) and Quebec (72 per cent).
And Leger found that just over half those polled (51 per cent) expressed satisfaction with the recent Harper budget, while 26 per cent were dissatisfied.
That corresponded to Decima's survey, which went a couple of steps further.
Thirty-two per cent of those polled said the budget makes them more likely to support the Tories, compared to 20 per cent who say it makes them less likely. Another 37 per cent were unmoved.
On softwood, the support was 29-17, with 41 per cent unmoved.
But when asked about Harper's decision to limit coverage of dead soldiers returning to Canada, 36 per cent told Decima it made them less likely to vote Tory, while 18 per cent liked the decision and 36 per cent said it had no impact.
On Harper's handling of the media generally, 27 per cent viewed it as a negative while 17 per cent said it made them more likely to vote Conservative, and 46 per cent were unmoved.
©The Canadian Press, 2006
