Voters Remain Unmoved

Toronto, ON - Giving little indication that they want change or are indeed concerned about what's happening on Parliament Hill, the Canadian public remains fairly stable towards the federal parties, according to the latest poll conducted by Ipsos Reid for CanWest and Global TV.

This week finds support for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives down three points to 34 percent nationally, while support for the Liberals and NDP remain unchanged since last week at 31 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

After sharply dropping last week to 24 percent in Quebec (6% nationally), the Bloc Quebecois has rebounded to 37% in Quebec (10% nationally), their strongest showing since last December.

At nine percent nationally, support for the Green Party remains unchanged from last week, and is as high as has ever been recorded by this poll. At nine percent, support for the Greens is nearly double the five percent they earned during the 2006 election.

Seven percent of voters nationwide remain undecided.

Regionally, support for the Conservatives remains highest in Alberta (up eight points from last week to 74%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (down 10 points to 39%) and British Columbia (down four points to 37%). The Conservatives have dropped by seven points in Ontario this week to 30 percent support, trailing 11 points behind the Liberals at 41 percent. In Quebec, the Conservatives continue to hold a slim lead among the federalist parties at 25 percent (down three points) compared to 22 percent for the Liberals. But, support for the Bloc Quebecois has bounced back by 13 points to 37 percent.

The Liberals lead in both Atlantic Canada (down one point from last week to 43%) and Ontario (up one point to 41%). But, the Liberals trail the Conservatives in each of the Western regions, with 11 percent support in Alberta (down seven points from last week), 25 percent in British Columbia (down nine points) and 31 percent in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (up one point).

The NDP enjoy their highest level of support in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (up 13 points to 28%) and British Columbia (up 11 points to 26%). Support for the NDP declined in both Atlantic Canada (down five points to 17%) and Quebec (down five points to 13%), while remaining unchanged in Ontario (15%).

While placing last in every region, the Green Party shows strongest in Atlantic Canada (up two points to 13%) and Ontario (up five points to 13%). Support for the Greens remained unchanged in British Columbia (10%) and grew in Alberta (up five points to 9%), while declining steeply in Quebec (down eight points to 2%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (down five points to 2%).

By gender, men favour the Conservatives (39%) over the Liberals (27%) by a 12-point margin, while women prefer the Liberals (34%) over the Conservatives (29%) by a five-point margin. The NDP draws higher support among women (17%) than among men (15%), while the Bloc (men, 9%; women, 10%) and Green Party (men, 8%; women, 9%) divide their support more equally between men and women.

By age, Conservatives continue enjoy an advantage among respondents 55 years and older (36%) and those 35 to 54 years of age (37%) as compared to the 18-to-34-year-old cohort (28%). The Liberals also enjoy greater support among those 55 years and older (36%) than among Canadians 18 to 34 years of age (28%). The NDP draws similar levels of support from those 18 to 34 years of age (15%), 35 to 54 years of age (17%) and those 55 years and older (15%). Support for both the Bloc Quebecois and Green Party skews younger, with 13 percent of those18 to 34 years of age supporting the Bloc and 15 percent supporting the Green Party compared to six percent among those 55 years and older supporting the Bloc and seven percent supporting the Green Party.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted for CanWest News Service/Global News and fielded from May 29-31, 2007. For this survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1,004 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the aggregate 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 Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within each sub-grouping 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 Census data.

For more Information on this news release, please contact:
Dr. Darrell Bricker
President & COO
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
416-324-2900
[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.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

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