Forty-one per cent of Quebec electors are ready to vote NDP or lean toward the party with Mr. Mulcair (Outremont, Que.) at the helm, the survey conducted on Tuesday found. The federal Conservative Party under Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) was ahead only of the Green Party with support from 14 per cent of Quebec voters, the Toronto-based research firm found.
The Liberal Party, currently led by interim leader Bob Rae (Toronto Centre, Ont.), was favoured by 16 per cent of Quebec voters who would either vote for the party or were leaning toward it. The Bloc Québécois, reduced to a rump of only six seats in the federal election last year, garnered support from 22 per cent of the province’s decided and leaning voters.
Significantly, the poll found more support for the NDP among francophone voters than non-francophones, with 42 per cent of decided or leaning Quebec francophone voters favouring the party compared to 39 per cent of non-francophone voters.
“We can see that the election of Tom Mulcair, a native Quebecer, as party leader, has significantly improved the NDP’s chances among Quebec voters,” Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff told The Hill Times.
The survey of 1,565 randomly selected voters in Quebec, through automated interactive voice-response telephone calls, has a margin of error of 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20. NDP MP David Christopherson (Hamilton Centre, Ont.) told The Hill Times the sign of improved fortune for the party in Quebec, following a decline in voter support after former NDP leader Jack Layton’s death last year, was what he and other Mulcair supporters in the party’s leadership were expecting.
Although the party’s historic breakthrough to become the Official Opposition in 2011 was based on the 59 seats it won in Quebec, New Democrats were rattled as party support in the province dipped in the months following Mr. Layton’s death and continued at low levels through the party’s seven-month leadership race.
“I think those of us that supported Tom were hoping and expecting that this would be the kind of reaction. That’s one of the reasons we chose him,” Mr. Christopherson said.
Mr. Christopherson acknowledged the challenge facing the party now is in Ontario, where the NDP won only 22 of the province’s 106 Commons seats in the May election.
“I think we’re going to see a turnaround in Ontario, but it’s not going to happen right away, it’s going to be a gradual build,” Mr. Christopherson said, admitting Mr. Mulcair is an unknown product so far in the country’s most populous province.
“Any new leader has the challenge of getting themselves known, and quite frankly you don’t really become a household name until you’re about two weeks into an election, whether that’s national or provincial, in my experience,” he said. “We have more in the Ontario caucus now than we had in the entire national caucus when I arrived in 2004. We’ve gained seats every election, and it certainly gets tougher with every success to move on to the next success, but we’re committed to it and I think there is going to be a very positive, favourable response to Tom Mulcair and his approach to offering an alternative government.”
The NDP recently launched a new television ad in an attempt to present Mr. Mulcair to voters outside Quebec, portraying him with a softer touch than the gritty approach to political discourse that has so far characterized his public image.
“Canada’s got a new leader, Tom Mulcair. … He’s going to take on Stephen Harper and win,” a voice says over a relaxed image of Mr. Mulcair. “As a Cabinet minister [in a Quebec Liberal government] and a member of Jack’s team, I’ve always fought for you. Now let’s get the job done,” Mr. Mulcair says in the ad.
The survey found support for the NDP highest in the Montreal region, where Mr. Mulcair may be best known, with 44 per cent of decided and leaning voters favouring the party. The Conservatives were favoured by only 12 per cent of decided or leaning voters in Montreal, with the Bloc Québécois favoured by 19 per cent, and the Liberal Party at 18 per cent.
In the Quebec City region, the NDP was favoured by 39 per cent of decided and leaning voters and the Conservatives by 26 per cent. Only 16 per cent of decided or leaning Quebec voters were ready to vote for the Bloc Québécois, while the Liberals were favoured by 18 per cent.
Original Article
Source: hill times
Author: Tim Naumetz
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