Tory Brand Splashed As Schreiber Mud Flies

Ottawa, ON - In a week of testimony by former businessman Karlheinz Schreiber before Parliament's ethics committee that produced revelations, allegations and contradictions concerning alleged dealings with former federal Conservative heavyweights Brian Mulroney, former cabinet minister Elmer MacKay and then Tory leadership hopeful and now Quebec Premier Jean Charest, it would appear that the Harper Conservative brand has taken a hit with support dropping to 35%, mainly as a result of sagging Tory fortunes in Ontario and Quebec.

With the Tories now at 35% support nationally (a decline of 4 points), the gap between the Liberals and the Conservatives has now been reduced to just six points. However, support for the Liberal Party is not rising, with the Grits holding steady at 29% support. The NDP has received a small boost to 16% support (up from 15%), and the Green Party has risen to 9% (up from 8%). Seven percent (7%) of voters are undecided.

In volatile Quebec, the Bloc has jumped to 38% support (10% nationally), which represents a rise of 7 points within this province. The Tories, however, continue to slide, dropping to 20% (a decline of 6 points), while the Liberals are close behind at 19% support (a decline of 4 points). The NDP has risen to 15% support (an increase of 2 points), and the Green Party is holding steady at 7% support.

In vote-rich Ontario, the Liberals at 40% support (an increase of 2 points) have surged ahead of the Conservative party which now sits at 36% support (a decline of 3 points). The NDP has dipped to 12% support (a decline of 1 point), while the Green Party has received a boost to 11% (a rise of 2 points).

Interestingly, the results of the poll also show that many Canadians do not believe that the public inquiry into Schreiber and Mulroney's dealings are even necessary. In fact, fully one half (50%) indicate that the proceedings `are a waste of time and the RCMP should be investigating instead'. On the other hand, four in ten (38%) believe that `it is worthwhile for parliament to investigate and to get to the bottom of these allegations'. One in eight (12%) do not know with which sentiment they more closely identify.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television from Dec 4 to Dec 6, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population of Canada 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 that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian according to Census data.

For full tabular results, please visit our website at www.ipsos.ca. News Releases are available at: http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Dr. Darrell Bricker
President and COO
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 324-2001
[email protected]

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