OTTAWA (CP) - A new poll, released as two more left-leaning candidates prepare to enter the Liberal leadership race, suggests a merger of the Liberal and New Democratic parties could be an electoral winner.
The Decima Research poll found that 25 per cent 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 per cent of Liberals favoured a merger and 32 per cent 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.
No Liberal leadership contender has so far advocated a formal merger of the two parties. But several of the perceived frontrunners, including Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae are making a pitch for disenchanted 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 and acclaimed scholar, 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 Thursday, 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 firmly centrist candidate, Kennedy's history of social activism appeals to many left-of-centre Liberals.
Kennedy will launch his campaign in Ottawa at an outdoor event, surrounded by supporters, including more than a half dozen Liberal MPs, and with a spectacular view of the Parliament Buildings in the background. The setting is aimed at showcasing Kennedy as a "breath of fresh air" who practises a more open and inclusive style of politics.
The leftward tilt will become even more pronounced Friday when another perceived left-winger, onetime hockey great Ken Dryden, becomes the tenth candidate to throw his hat in the ring. Dryden is the former social development minister who finally 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, warning that the Liberals' electoral success has always 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 per cent 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.
While that's a relatively small number, the Decima analysis points out that the election results hinged on fewer than 20,000 votes in 14 ridings, where the split between the Liberals and NDP allowed the Tories to win. Had the Liberals won those ridings, they would have formed a minority government.
The online survey of 2,172 adult Canadians was conducted March 31-April 4. A sample this size is considered accurate to within plus or minus 2.1 percentage points 19 times in 20.
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/NationalNewsArticle.htm?src=n042667A.xml
No offence ot any Liberals here. But, get away you Liberals, we NDP members don't want to be infected with an 'air of entitlement'. :lol:
The Decima Research poll found that 25 per cent 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 per cent of Liberals favoured a merger and 32 per cent 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.
No Liberal leadership contender has so far advocated a formal merger of the two parties. But several of the perceived frontrunners, including Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae are making a pitch for disenchanted 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 and acclaimed scholar, 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 Thursday, 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 firmly centrist candidate, Kennedy's history of social activism appeals to many left-of-centre Liberals.
Kennedy will launch his campaign in Ottawa at an outdoor event, surrounded by supporters, including more than a half dozen Liberal MPs, and with a spectacular view of the Parliament Buildings in the background. The setting is aimed at showcasing Kennedy as a "breath of fresh air" who practises a more open and inclusive style of politics.
The leftward tilt will become even more pronounced Friday when another perceived left-winger, onetime hockey great Ken Dryden, becomes the tenth candidate to throw his hat in the ring. Dryden is the former social development minister who finally 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, warning that the Liberals' electoral success has always 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 per cent 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.
While that's a relatively small number, the Decima analysis points out that the election results hinged on fewer than 20,000 votes in 14 ridings, where the split between the Liberals and NDP allowed the Tories to win. Had the Liberals won those ridings, they would have formed a minority government.
The online survey of 2,172 adult Canadians was conducted March 31-April 4. A sample this size is considered accurate to within plus or minus 2.1 percentage points 19 times in 20.
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/NationalNewsArticle.htm?src=n042667A.xml
No offence ot any Liberals here. But, get away you Liberals, we NDP members don't want to be infected with an 'air of entitlement'. :lol:
