Harper (43%) Continues to Best Layton (33%) and
Ignatieff (24%) as Man Who Canadians Say Would
Make Best Prime Minister of Canada

Toronto, ON - Prime Minister Stephen Harper is continuing to convince Canadians that he's the best man for his current job, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for Postmedia News and Global Television. Four in ten (43%) Canadians believe that, among the major party leaders, Stephen Harper would make the best Prime Minister of Canada, down three points from February of this year.

While representing a small improvement over February's polling numbers, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff's troubles persist as just one quarter (24%) believe that he would make the best Prime Minister of Canada (up 3 points), still well behind NDP Leader Jack Layton (33%, unchanged) who is in second place.

While 85% of current Conservative Party supporters believe that Stephen Harper would make the best Prime Minister of Canada, three quarters (75%) of NDP supporters believe that Jack Layton would make the best Prime Minister. Likely instrumental in holding back the Liberal Party's standings in the polls, just 55% of Liberal Party supporters believe that Michael Ignatieff would make the best Prime Minister. In fact, 24% of Liberal supporters believe Layton would make the best Prime Minister, and 21% believe Stephen Harper would be the best man for the job.

When examining various leadership attributes, Stephen Harper continues to best the other party leaders on most of the key leadership attributes, while Michael Ignatieff fails to beat Jack Layton in any of the positive attributes studied:

• It's clear that Canadians remain focused on the economy, and in this area Stephen Harper has the hammer. Nearly one half (45%) of Canadians believe he is best to manage during tough economic times (down 1 point), well ahead of Michael Ignatieff (24%, unchanged), Jack Layton (24%, down 2 points), and Gilles Duceppe (7%, up 2 points).
• Stephen Harper (36%, down 4 points) and Jack Layton (35%, unchanged) are neck and neck when it comes to being someone who you can trust, compared to fewer Canadians who feel that this attribute best describes Michael Ignatieff (20%, up 1 point) or Gilles Duceppe (8%, up 2 points).
• Four in ten (43%) Canadians say that the leader who is best to get things done is Stephen Harper (unchanged), followed by Jack Layton (26%, down 4 points), Michael Ignatieff (21%, unchanged) and Gilles Duceppe (9%, up 3 points).
• When thinking about someone who has what it takes to lead Canada, a clear plurality (43%, down 2 points) of Canadians say that Stephen Harper is best described as this person, while Jack Layton (26%, down 3 points) and Michael Ignatieff (26%, up 4 points) are tied for second place, followed by Gilles Duceppe (5%, up 1 point).
• More Canadians believe that Jack Layton (42%, up 1 point) is the person who is open to the ideas of others than believe this best describes Stephen Harper (28%, down 4 points), Michael Ignatieff (22%, unchanged) or Gilles Duceppe (8%, up 2 points).
• Nearly one half (45%, unchanged) of Canadians believe that when it comes to having a hidden agenda Stephen Harper is the party leader who is best described by this trait, while fewer believe that it best describes Ignatieff (37%, up 3 points), Layton (14%, down 2 points) or Duceppe (4%, unchanged).

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between October 29 and November 1, 2010, on behalf of Postmedia News and Global Television. For this survey, a sample of 1,046 adults from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid

Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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