THE FEDERAL LIBERAL PARTY CONTINUES TO LEAD IN VOTE STANDING

This Angus Reid Group/CTV/Globe and Mail poll was conducted by telephone between October 27th and November 1st, 1998 among a representative cross-section of 1,500 Canadian adults.

These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.

With a national sample of 1,500, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results are within +2.5 percentage points 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.

DESPITE PRIME MINISTER CHRETIEN'S LATEST FOIBLES, THE FEDERAL LIBERAL PARTY CONTINUES TO LEAD IN VOTE STANDING

NO DENT IN SUPPORT LEVEL FOR FEDERAL LIBERALS...REMAINS VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL TO VOTE SOUNDINGS FOR PAST SIX MONTHS OF POLLING

Despite Prime Minister Chretien's latest foibles, the Liberal Party continues to lead the polls. A National Angus Reid Poll conducted among 1,500 Canadians between October 27th and November 1st updated the federal party standings. Among the poll's highlights:

• The Liberals currently hold 47 percent of the decided vote. This is consistent with our previous survey in September, but is down 6 points since April. Nevertheless, it is still significantly higher than the 38 percent of the popular vote the Liberals received on election day last June.
• The Progressive Conservatives have moved up to second place with 17 percent of the vote nationally (up 4 points since September), while the Reform party slips to third with 14 percent (unchanged from last month); both parties on the right sit at a lower level of support than the 19 percent each received in the last federal election. The NDP is at 11 percent (on par with their election performance), and the Bloc Quйbйcois is at 10 percent nationally (40% in Quйbec). (A total of 11% of polled Canadians were undecided/refused or said they would not vote in a federal election.)

Across the major regions, the federal party standings are as follows:

• In British Columbia, the Liberals continue to lead Reform (40% versus 29%), as they have done for most of 1998. The New Democrats are third with 13 percent, just ahead of the Conservatives (12%).
• Next door in Alberta, the Reform party remains on top with 40 percent of the decided vote, down 4 points since September. The Liberals have slipped 7 points since June but hold on to second place with 30 percent, and the Conservatives continue to gain ground to sit at 25 percent (more than double the level of public support recorded in July).
• The Liberals maintain a comfortable lead in Manitoba/Saskatchewan with support from 40 percent of decided voters. The Reform party has slipped 6 points since last month and currently shares second place with the NDP (each hold 21% of the decided vote). The Conservatives have regained ground lost in September to sit at 17 percent, its highest level of public support in this region since the 1997 election.
• The Liberals remain well in front of the opposition in Ontario (58% of the decided vote). The Conservatives hold second place with 20 percent, and the NDP follow at 12 percent. The Reform party has slipped 7 points since July to 9 percent.
• In Quйbec , the Liberals hold a slim lead over the Bloc Quйbйcois (46% versus 40%) after spending the latter portion of the summer in a virtual tie.
• The Liberals remain No. 1 among decided voters in Atlantic Canada , but their support continues to erode (37%, down from 43% last month and 53% in June). The Conservatives sit in second place with 32 percent (up 7 points since September), while the NDP hold third (20%).

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Christian Bourque
Directeur de recherche Affaires
Groupe Angus Reid
(514) 877-5550

Darrell Bricker
Executive Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(416) 324-2900