Canadians divided on toppling government: poll
Posted: December 03, 2008, 11:02 AM by Julie Smyth
Canadian Politics
An new Angus Reid poll suggests the public is divided on the possibility of an opposition coalition throwing the Conservatives out of power.
The poll of 1,000 Canadians shows:
35% believe the Conservatives deserve to continue in government; 40% disagree
If the Tories fall: 37% would allow the opposition to form a coalition government; 32% would hold a new federal election
57% are worried about the Bloc Québécois becoming involved in the federal government; 64% would not be comfortable with Stéphane Dion becoming Canada’s Prime Minister
53% believe the Tories have not done a good job in dealing with the economic crisis; 75% think the federal government should implement a stimulus package to boost the economy as soon as possible
The poll was conducted Monday and Tuesday using an online survey and offfers one of the first glimpses into how Canadians feel about the crisis on Parliament Hill. The margin of error is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.
The survey also shows that a majority of Canadians express disappointment with the way the Tories have dealt with the economic crisis, and urge the implementation of a stimulus package to boost the economy.
Canadians are split on whether their own Member of Parliament should support the confidence motion against the Conservative minority government (In favour 36%, Against 40%), on whether the opposition parties should get together and topple Stephen Harper's Government (Yes 36%, No 41%), and on whether the Conservative Party deserves to stay in government (Yes 35%, No 40%).
Respondents were provided with three choices in the event the Conservatives are defeated in the House of Commons next Monday: 37% would allow the opposition to form a coalition government, while 32% would prefer to hold a new federal election, and seven per cent would opt for letting the opposition govern by accord.
Support for the coalition concept is highest in Quebec (48%), B.C. (39%) and Atlantic Canada (36%), while Ontarians are evenly divided on the issue and respondents in Alberta (53%) and Manitoba and Saskatchewan (43%) would prefer to vote again.
Only one-in-four Canadians (25%) admit that they would be comfortable with Liberal leader Stéphane Dion becoming Canada's Prime Minister, while almost two-thirds of respondents (64%) are uncomfortable with this notion. In Canada’s most populous provinces—Quebec and Ontario—three-in-five respondents (60%) are not at ease with the idea of Mr. Dion at 24 Sussex.
A majority of respondents (57%) are worried about the Bloc Québécois becoming involved in the federal government, while three-in-ten (30%) disagree. Almost half of Quebecers (57%) see no problem with the sovereignist party's participation in a coalition, but large majorities in Alberta (82%), Manitoba and Saskatchewan (74%) and British Columbia (66%) are concerned.
Three-in-four Canadians (75%) think the federal government should implement a stimulus package to boost the economy as soon as possible, and a majority (53%) believes the Conservatives have not done a good job in dealing with the economic crisis.