XPost: soc.culture.canada, can.atlantic.general, can.general 
 XPost: can.politics, soc.culture.quebec 
 From: abc@a123.ca 
  
 Tories hit 43% support: poll 
  
  Tuesday, Mar. 1, 2011 
  
 OTTAWA € Prime Minister Stephen Harper€s Conservatives have opened up a 
 wide lead against their political rivals in public favour and would be 
 close to winning a majority if an election occurred now, a new poll has 
 found. 
  
 The national survey, conducted exclusively for Postmedia News and Global 
 National, found that the Tories are now supported by 43% of decided 
 voters € up by four points from early February. 
  
 That finding by pollster Ipsos Reid is significant, as the level of 
 support is near the threshold that experts believe the Tories need to win 
 their long-coveted majority. 
  
 The Conservatives haven€t been this popular since they enjoyed a brief 
 spike in the polls in December 2008 when Canadians were opposed to the 
 opposition parties€ efforts to create a coalition government. 
  
 The new survey shows the Tories have a 16-point lead over the Liberals, 
 led by Michael Ignatieff. The Grits, who have been trying to stoke voter 
 anger over the government€s performance, have the support of 27% of 
 voters, up by two points. 
  
 Jack Layton€s NDP appears to be in political decline as it makes demands 
 to the government over what should be in the budget. The New Democrats 
 would receive 13% of the vote, down by five points. 
  
 Similarly, the Green party, led by Elizabeth May, is in trouble. It would 
 receive five per cent of the vote, down by five points. 
  
 Gilles Duceppe€s Bloc Quebecois has 10%of the vote nationally and still 
 has a commanding lead in Quebec. 
  
 €What you€re seeing in the numbers is a continuation of a trend that 
 started over the past two months,€ said Ipsos Reid president Darrell 
 Bricker on Tuesday. 
  
 €And one could say that with these types of numbers, the Tories are well 
 poised to potentially form a majority.€ 
  
 Bricker said that two major factors are at work: Canadians are generally 
 optimistic about the economy and are giving credit to the Harper 
 government, and the negative Conservative TV ads which take aim at 
 Ignatieff€s political ambitions and patriotism are working. 
  
 €The Tories have been uncontested on television screens in this country,€ 
 said Bricker. 
  
 €The only thing that people know about Michael Ignatieff is what the 
 Conservatives have told them.€ 
  
 Bricker said another trend is occurring which works in the Tories€ 
 favour: They are increasingly attracting support beyond their traditional 
 base. 
  
 The new poll finds the Tories receiving more support from middle-income 
 Canadians, women, university-educated voters and foreign-born Canadians. 
  
 €They€re flattening out those demographic differences and becoming more 
 mainstream,€ said Bricker. 
  
 The poll finds strong support throughout the West for the Tories, 
 including in British Columbia, where there are some key seats up for 
 grabs in the next election. 
  
 Most importantly, said Bricker, the Conservatives remain well ahead in 
 vote-rich Ontario. That province has tended to be volatile in recent 
 months, with voters changing their voting intentions almost by the week. 
  
 But this is the second straight poll where the Tories are strongly in 
 first place in Ontario, suggesting that the vote there is solidifying. 
  
 The federal political parties are preparing for the possibility of an 
 election that could be precipitated by a budget in late March. 
  
 The odds of an election occurring hinge on whether Harper decides to 
 avert one by including enough concessions in the budget to secure the 
 support of the NDP. 
  
 In every region but Quebec, the Tories are leading in public opinion. 
  
 In Ontario, the Tories stand at 45%, compared to 33% for the Liberals, 
 14% for the NDP, and 4% for the Green party. 
  
 In Quebec, the Bloc is supported by 41% of decided voters, with the 
 Liberals at 27%, the Tories at 19%, the NDP at 6%, and the Green party at 
 4%. 
  
 In B.C., the Tories have 48% of the vote, compared to 22% for the NDP, 
 21% for the Liberals and 8% for the Green party. 
  
 In Alberta, the Tories stand at 68% support, while the Liberals have 17%, 
 the NDP have 10% and the Green party has 4%. 
  
 In Saskatchewan/Manitoba, the Tories are ahead at 59%, while the Liberals 
 and NDP both have 17% and the Green party has 7%. 
  
 In the Atlantic region, the Tories are at 52%, followed by the Liberals 
 at 33%, the NDP at 12% and the Green party at 4%. 
  
 The poll was a telephone survey of 1,001 adult Canadians taken Feb. 23-27 
 and its national results have a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 
 19 times out of 20. 
  
 The margin of error for the regional results are: B.C. (9%); Alberta 
 (9.8%); Manitoba/Saskatchewan (12.1%); Ontario (4.9%); Quebec (6.2%); 
 Atlantic Canada (12.1%). 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)