OTTAWA – A new poll suggests Canadians think Michael Ignatieff is wrong to try to force an election this fall and the Liberal leader’s popularity has nosedived as a result.
The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey also suggests Liberal fortunes have dipped, with the Conservatives taking a slight lead nationally – 34 per cent to 31.
The NDP was at 15 per cent, the Greens at 10, and the Bloc Quebecois at eight.
According to the poll, respondents with a negative impression of Ignatieff jumped 15 points from March, to 41 per cent.
Thirty-nine per cent had a favourable impression, down six points.
Stephen Harper isn’t doing much better – impressions of the prime minister remained virtually unchanged with 44 per cent having a favourable opinion and 45 per cent having an unfavourable opinion.
The poll of just over 2,000 Canadians was conducted Aug. 27 to Sept. 6 and is considered accurate to within 2.2 percentage points 19 times in 20.
