Ottawa

Poll dance: Ottawa in crisis

So, how do Canadians feel about the crisis on the Hill?

Business leaders, for one, aren’t too happy about it. According to a COMPAS poll for Canadian Business, more than three-quarters of them said the coalition was motivated by a desire for power, as opposed to the belief that Harper is bad for the economy.

Among the findings:

– 72 per cent said the economy would be worse under a Dion-led coalition

– 65 per cent said inflation would be worse

– 61 per cent said the standard of living would decline

– 70 per cent have the most confidence in Harper as Prime Minister (Michael Ignatieff came second, with 19 per cent)

And CEOs aren’t the only ones weighing in. According to an EKOS poll for the CBC, Harper’s Conservatives have actually seen a bump in support amid the chaos. The phone survey, conducted Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, showed that, if given the chance, 44 of respondents would vote Tory (49 per cent in Ontario). Meanwhile, just 37.6 per cent voted for them in the recent federal election.

– 24 per cent of respondents said they’d vote Liberal (27.5 per cent in Ontario), down two percentage points from the election

– 14.5 per cent said they’d vote NDP, down almost four per cent

– 9 per cent said they’d vote Bloc

– 8 per cent said they’d vote Green

Angus Reid has some slightly different numbers. Yesterday, they said Canadians are divided: about 40 per cent of respondents believed the Conservatives didn’t deserve to stay in office, according to their research, while 35 per cent felt the opposite.

– 36 per cent thought the opposition parties should band together to topple the Tories

– 41 per cent disagreed

In the event the Conservatives were defeated in the House of Commons…

– 37 per cent would allow the Opposition for form a coalition government

– 32 per cent would hold a new election

According to Léger Marketing, if the Tories had been defeated in a non-confidence vote, 40 per cent of Canadians would prefer a coalition government, while 43 per cent wanted another election. Support for another election was strongest in Alberta, where 71 per cent favoured it, compared with 25 per cent in Quebec.

– 41 per cent said they were “very concerned” about the Bloc holding the balance of power in a coalition

– 39 per cent would vote Conservative if an election was held today

– 26 per cent would vote Liberal

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