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Martin best able to lead 'honest' government: poll
Last Updated Mon, 24 May 2004 11:25:50
TORONTO - A new poll suggests that more Canadians think Paul Martin is able to lead an honest and trustworthy government than the leaders of the other three major parties.
The poll, conducted for the CBC by Environics Research, says that 31 per cent of the people asked said Martin is best able to lead an honest and trustworthy government.
In the same poll, 46 per cent said they thought Martin was the most "capable" leader.
But a closer look at the number shows that 33 per cent of respondents couldn't identify any leader as best able to lead an honest and trustworthy government.
Donna Dasko, senior vice-president at Environics, says that's part of a larger problem. "On the honesty dimension, we're seeing a reflection of other polls, that indicate that Canadians are cynical [about politics and politicians]," says Dasko.
A significant 37 per cent said Martin is the most likable leader. That number is just 30 per cent in Quebec, where Martin is tied with Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper comes in second in the rest of Canada, with 18 per cent declaring him most likable. That number is just six per cent in Quebec, and 22 per cent elsewhere in Canada.
But 24 per cent said that either none of the leaders was most likable, or that they didn't know or couldn't answer.
The numbers dovetail with what other polls have suggested about voting intentions. Liberals have been polled to have up to 39 per cent of support in recent days.
The Environics poll also asked about the parties' abilities to handle certain major issues, including health care. The Liberals scored the highest of all the parties on the issues as well, which Dasko says is not surprising.
"It's largely divided on party support lines, as far as who can handle the issues," says Dasko.
But, she says, in categories including health, honesty, immigration and provincial relations, they don't score much higher.
"You see that there's not a lot of difference among the parties in terms of how they're seen to be handling the issues. That kind of finding has important consequences for the electorate. People start looking for other things that they might consider in making their voting decisions," says Dasko.
But there were some issues where the people who were surveyed said the Liberals would do better, namely Canada-U.S. relations, national security, and national unity and Quebec. In Quebec, the Bloc scored much higher on national unity and Quebec (49 per cent, versus 25 per cent for the Liberals).
The Liberals may be scoring high on their international dealings because of their decision last year to keep Canada out of Iraq. The survey suggests that nearly 80 per cent of Candians support that decision. Also, Martin put himself on the world stage by meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush in May.
Dasko says the parties will try to emphasize the issues where they score the highest.
"If the main issues are not differentiating the parties, then the parties themselves will try to get people talking about other things," she says.
The poll was conducted by telephone between May 12 and May 18. It is considered accurate within 2.14 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
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Nathan Fake - Outhouse (Valentino Kanzyani Remix) 
