The poll by Forum Research, released on Sept. 30, found less than half of Quebecers of voting age support the initiative, which drew harsh opposition criticism when it was announced two weeks ago with a high-profile appearance in Ottawa by British Foreign Secretary William Hague.
Only 46 per cent of Quebecers agreed with the measure, compared to support levels of 55 per cent in Ontario and the Atlantic, and support at 71 per cent in Mr. Harper’s (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) Conservative heartland of Alberta.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird (Ottawa-West-Nepean, Ont.) and Mr. Hague touted the new arrangement on Parliament Hill on Sept. 24 as a way to cuts costs. “It is about speed and flexibility. Practicality, saving the taxpayer money in both countries,” Mr. Hague said on the Hill to reporters. “It doesn’t in any way change their independence of policy … it just makes sound practical sense.”
Mr. Baird, who said the sharing will include consular assistance to travellers and passport service, said Canada will continue to have its own “made-in-Canada foreign policy.”
Said Mr. Baird: “We will be moving forward with a small number of administrative arrangements, where we can co-located. This is a small administrative agreement.”
But Forum Research pollster Lorne Bozinoff said the response to the government’s embassy-sharing initiative signals that—despite a potential threat in Quebec from a federal Liberal party that could be reinvigorated following its election of a new leader next April—Mr. Harper is continuing to plough ahead with measures the federal Conservatives must be aware are further eroding their position in the province.
“The Tories seem to have given up on Quebec on just about every file,” Mr. Bozinoff said in an interview with The Hill Times.
Mr. Harper’s position, at the least in Quebec, would only be worse if the Liberal Party elects MP Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) as its new leader, said Mr. Bozinoff.
Mr. Trudeau, whose father former prime minister Pierre Trudeau held the respect of Quebecers, if not consistent voter support, during his 14 years as prime minister, would be a threat to Mr. Harper and possibly also to NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair (Outremont, Que.) and the 58 seats his official opposition party hold in the province, Mr. Bozinoff said.
“I think Quebec is ready for another prime minister from Quebec, and despite what is sometimes said about Justin Trudeau in the province, he is extremely popular there right now,” Mr. Bozinoff said. “And, we saw in the French debate [in the 2011 federal election], how important it is to be a native speaker in Quebec.”
The orange wave of support won by the NDP and led by the late Jack Layton as the official opposition in the House of Commons began after the campaign’s French-language televised debate, growing to the point that the party swept most of the province’s 75 seats, leaving only a handful for the Liberals in Montreal and a handful for Mr. Harper and his Conservatives in eastern Quebec.
Mr. Trudeau is set to launch his leadership campaign with an evening rally and event in his riding Tuesday night, Oct. 2.
Prior to the embassy measure announced on Sept. 24, which also drew criticism outside Quebec, as well as praise from some quarters for its stated purpose of consolidating forces with the British and saving money, a string of government policies estranged a majority of Quebecers from Mr. Harper and his party, going back to cuts the federal Conservatives made to cultural programs prior to the 2008 federal election.
Other unpopular measures since then have included the elimination of the federal long-gun registry, crime legislation that increases jail time for a range of measures, including minor drug possession, and the proposed $25-billion of F-35 stealth fighter jets.
A Forum Research poll last March, meanwhile, found only 13 per cent of Quebecers thought the acquisition of the 65 F-35 fighter jets should go ahead, and 45 per cent said they believed the money should be spent on something else or that Canada does not need new fighter jets.
NDP MP Romeo Saganash (Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou, Que.) told The Hill Times that despite the prospect of Mr. Trudeau emerging as Liberal leader for the next federal election, he believes the NDP will hold its own because of the work it has done in Parliament over the past year. The next federal election is expected in the fall of 2015.
“If you look at what we have done and what we have achieved, the team that we have on the Hill since the last election, I think we’ve demonstrated that we have a pretty solid team, that we [will] continue on and govern this country,” Mr. Saganash said.
Asked if he believes the same would be true with Mr. Trudeau as Liberal leader, Mr. Saganash said: “I don’t think that will change.”
Meanwhile, Liberal MP Wayne Easter (Malpeque, P.E.I.) criticized the government’s embassy-sharing agreement. He said it contradicts independent policies espoused by a string of former prime ministers.
“It just adds to animosity toward Harper in Quebec,” Mr. Easter said.
The Forum Research survey of 1,758 voting age Canadians across Canada is considered to have a margin of error of plus or minus two per cent in 19 times out of 20. The sample of 462 Quebecers has a slightly higher margin of error.
Original Article
Source: hill times
Author: TIM NAUMETZ
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