Canadians' Preferred Minority Government Combination: Liberals Supported By NDP

Toronto, ON - According to a new Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll released this morning, if faced with a minority government, Canadians would be more accepting of some party combinations than others:

183
• Over half (56%) feel a "Liberal-led minority government supported by the NDP" would be acceptable to them; while 183
• 52% feel a "Liberal-led minority government supported by the Conservatives" would be acceptable to them; 183
• 48% feel a "Conservative-led minority government supported by the Liberals" would be acceptable to them; 183
• 47% feel a "Conservative-led minority government supported by the NDP" would be acceptable to them; 183
• 31% feel a "Liberal-led minority government supported by the Bloc Quebecois" would be acceptable to them; and 183
• 28% feel a "Conservative-led minority government supported by the Bloc Quebecois" would be acceptable to them.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll conducted from June 21st to June 23rd, 2004. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 2000 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1772.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001Census data.

Canadians Much More Receptive Of Liberal-Led/NDP-Supported Minority Government Than Conservative-Led/Bloc-Supported Minority Government...
If faced with a minority government Canadians would be more receptive of some potential party combinations than others:

183
• Over half (56%) feel a "Liberal-led minority government supported by the NDP" would be acceptable to them (36% " somewhat acceptable", 20% "very acceptable"), 42% would find such an arrangement unacceptable (17% "somewhat unacceptable", 25% "very unacceptable"), and 3% "don't know"; while 183
• 52% feel a "Liberal-led minority government supported by the Conservatives" would be acceptable to them (12% "very acceptable", 40% "somewhat acceptable"), 45% would find such an arrangement unacceptable (17% "somewhat unacceptable", 28% "very unacceptable"), and 3% "don't know"; 183
• 48% feel a "Conservative-led minority government supported by the Liberals" would be acceptable to them (12% "very acceptable", 36% "somewhat acceptable"), 49% would find such an arrangement unacceptable (19% "somewhat unacceptable", 30% "very unacceptable"), and 3% "don't know"; 183
• 47% feel a "Conservative-led minority government supported by the NDP" would be acceptable to them (12% "very acceptable", 35% "somewhat acceptable"), 50% would find such an arrangement unacceptable (19% "somewhat unacceptable", 30% "very unacceptable"), and 3% "don't know"; 183
• 31% feel a "Liberal-led minority government supported by the Bloc Quebecois" would be acceptable to them (8% "very acceptable", 23% "somewhat acceptable"), 66% would find this arrangement unacceptable (19% "somewhat unacceptable", 47% "very unacceptable"), and 3% "don't know"; and 183
• 28% feel a "Conservative-led minority government supported by the Bloc Quebecois" would be acceptable to them (7% "very acceptable", 20% "somewhat acceptable"), 70% would find this arrangement unacceptable (20% "somewhat unacceptable", 50% "very unacceptable"), and 3% "don't know".

There are also varying levels of receptiveness towards the different potential minority government party combinations among decided party supporters:

183
• Approximately eight in ten (81%) NDP supporters would find a Liberal-led/NDP-supported minority government acceptable, compared to 71% of Liberal supporters; while 183
• Six in ten (60%) Liberal supporters and Conservative supporters (58%) would find a Liberal-led/Conservative-supported minority government acceptable; 183
• 65% of Conservative supporters would find a Conservative-led/Liberal-supported minority government acceptable, compared to 48% of Liberal supporters; 183
• 64% of Conservative supporters would find a Conservative-led/NDP-supported minority government acceptable to them, compared to 59% of NDP supporters; 183
• 36% of Liberal supporters would find a Liberal-led/Bloc Quebecois-supported minority government acceptable to them, compared to 69% of Bloc Quebecois supporters; and 183
• 36% of Conservative supporters would find a Conservative-led/Bloc Quebecois minority government acceptable to them, compared to 66% of Bloc Quebecois supporters. Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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  For more information on this news release, please contact:
  
  Darrell Bricker
  President & COO
  Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
  (416) 324-2900