FEDERAL POLITICAL SCENE MARCH 2000

Ottawa, Ontario -- The results of a recent Angus Reid/Globe and Mail poll reveal that if an election were held tomorrow, the Liberals (47%) are the preferred choice of decided voters. Overall, support for the Liberal government remains strong (65% approve, 70% say they are on the right track) but although Jean Chrйtien receives high personal approval ratings (60%) a majority (61%) of Canadians do not feel that he should lead the Liberals into the next election. The data also suggests that the recent HRDC scandal has damaged the perception of the Liberals as a government that spends money wisely (only 16% agree). A majority of Canadians (56%) still feel that the Liberals deserve to be re-elected but supporters are split as to whether they should be re-elected because they are "doing a good job of managing the country" (48%) or because "there is really no other party to choose from" (51%).

These are the findings of an Angus Reid/Globe and Mail poll conducted between February 27th and March 6th, 2000. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,500 adult Canadians. The results are accurate to within 177 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire 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 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.

Healthcare (59%) Should Receive Greatest Attention

According to Canadians, Healthcare (59%) tops the list of issues which they feel should receive the greatest attention from Canada's leaders. The top five issues are:

• Healthcare - 59%
• Education/Schools - 28%
• Taxes - 20%
• Deficit/Debt/Government Spending - 17%
• Jobs/Unemployment - 12%

Liberals Lead With 47% of Decided Voters

If a federal election were held tomorrow, the Liberals would receive 47 percent of the vote. This includes both decided voters and those who are leaning. The percentage support for each party is listed below:

• Liberals - 47%
• Reform - 14%
• PC - 13%
• NDP - 12%
• BQ - 11%
• Other - 2%

Seven in Ten (70%) Feel That The Government is On The "Right Track"

Seven in ten (70%) Canadians feel that Jean Chrйtien and the federal Liberals are on the "right track". Just greater than one in ten (12%) feel strongly about this while a majority (58%) feel that they are "somewhat" on the right track. Just over one-quarter (28%) feel that Jean Chrйtien and the federal Liberals are on the "wrong track", this includes 13 percent who feel they are "strongly" on the wrong track and 14 percent who feel they are "somewhat" on the wrong track.

To view the complete media release please download the PDF file.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Angus Reid Group
(416) 324-2900

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