Majority of Canadians would vote for gay PM, except in Alberta, says poll

A new public opinion poll suggests a substantial majority of Canadians would vote for a gay candidate for leader of a political party and also for a party with a gay leader as the candidate for Prime Minister—except for voters in Alberta and voters who currently support the Conservative party.

Forum Research discovered the divide in a poll it conducted on April 2, in the context of a bout of recent speculation that Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) might step down before the federal election now set for 2015.

Just more than 1,300 voting-age Canadians responded to the question “would you vote for a gay candidate as a party leader?” and also, as a second question, whether they would vote in a general election “for a party whose candidate for Prime Minister was gay?”

Overall, 66 per cent of the respondents across the country said they would vote for a gay candidate as party leader, and an almost equal number, 67 per cent, said they would vote for a party whose candidate for Prime Minister, the party leader, was gay.

The most positive response by province was in Québec, where 75 per cent said they would vote for a gay candidate as party leader and an almost equal number, 76 per cent, said they would vote for a party that had a gay leader running to become prime minister.

Respondents in the other provinces, except for Alberta, ranged between a 66-per-cent ‘yes’ rate in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, to 69-per-cent ‘yes’ in the Atlantic region on the leadership candidate question, with almost exactly the same response range for the question about voting for a party whose leader and candidate for prime minister was gay.

But in Alberta, only 46 per cent of the respondents said they would vote for a gay candidate as party leader and only 46 per cent of the Albertan respondents said they would vote for a party that had a gay leader as the contender to become Prime Minister.

Thirty-eight per cent of the Alberta respondents said they would not vote for a gay candidate as party leader and 36 per cent said they would not vote for a party whose candidate for Prime Minister was gay.

Nationally, only 23 per cent said they would not vote for a gay candidate as party leader and only 21 per cent said they would not vote for a party whose candidate for Prime Minister was gay.

Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff said the results could be significant for the Conservative Party if Mr. Harper does step down.

Despite fierce Conservative opposition to Liberal government legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in 2005, a number of Conservative MPs from Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic are more liberal on the question and other human rights issues.

“It appears the public at large is ahead of party elites on this issue, which will become less academic with the retirement of Stephen Harper,” Mr. Bozinoff said.

A spokesman for the NDP official opposition told The Hill Times no MPs were available to respond to the survey findings, and the Liberal opposition media office did not respond to an email asking if MPs could respond.

The survey found Canadians with post-secondary education were more likely to say they would vote for a gay candidate as party leader as well as for a party whose candidate for prime minister was gay. Those with higher incomes were also more likely to say yes to both questions.

More women, at just more than 70 per cent, said yes to both questions then did men, at about 60 per cent. NDP and Bloc Québécois supporters were more likely to say yes to the prospect of voting for a gay party leader or prime minister, at about 80 per cent.

The survey of 1,310 Canadians aged 18 and older was an interactive voice response telephone survey with a margin of error of three per cent in 19 times out of 20.

Original Article
Source: hilltimes.com
Author:  TIM NAUMETZ