Liberals stalled in new poll results

Last Updated Fri, 23 Apr 2004 20:53:00

OTTAWA - An Environics poll puts Liberal support across the country in the
minority government range, as the party edges closer to an election call.
The Liberals now have 39 per cent support among those polled. Conservatives
have 29 per cent, New Democrats 19 per cent and the Bloc Quebecois 11 per
cent.

That's a modest gain for the opposition parties, but a 12 per cent drop for
the Liberals since Paul Martin took office in December. At 39 per cent, the
Liberals would win the next election, but with minority status. The Bloc
now leads the Liberals in Quebec.

Donna Dasko, senior vice president of Environics, says the Liberals are
"just at the point where they're on the precipice, and that's what I
find really interesting about this poll result. It's so rare to see such a
drop."

When asked which of the leaders would make the best prime minister, the
poll finds Paul Martin wins comfortably, with 41 per cent of Canadians
choosing the Liberal leader. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has the
support of 19 per cent and NDP Leader Jack Layton 10 per cent. What could
be worrying for the Liberals however is that the poll finds the opposition
leaders, gaining favor since December while Martin's popularity, has
dropped 19 points since he taking office.

The poll surveyed 1.940 eligible voters between March 29 and April 18. It
is considered to be accurate, plus or minus, to within approximately 2.2
percentage points in 95 out of 100 samples.

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