Rae public favourite for Liberal leadership: poll
Patrick_Ross @ Sat Oct 14, 2006 1:56 pm
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/s ... hub=Canada
$1:
Rae public favourite for Liberal leadership: poll
CTV.ca News Staff
Among Canadians, Bob Rae is the preferred choice over Michael Ignatieff to win the Liberal leadership race -- even thought they think Ignatieff has a better chance of winning the next federal election for the Liberals, a Toronto Star/EKOS poll has concluded.
The 1,211 Canadians polled between Oct. 10-12 gave Rae 26 per cent of the public vote while Ignatieff received 21 per cent. Former Ontario education minister Gerard Kennedy and Quebec MP Stephane Dion both received 12 per cent of the vote.
"This is good news for the Rae camp," Liberal party strategist Tom Axworthy told CTV Newsnet. "Bob Rae has been a public figure for 25 years ... so he is a name that Canadians know and I think that many Canadians are comfortable with him."
But the poll also suggests that Canadians think Ignatieff will have a better chance of winning in the next federal election.
On that question, he captured 30 per cent of the public vote while Rae garnered 26 per cent. Kennedy received 10 per cent of the vote while Dion received 9 per cent.
Ignatieff is also the clear front-runner among party delegates who will vote for the new Liberal leader at the party's December leadership convention. He has just over 29 per cent of the first-ballot delegate support while Rae trails with about 20 per cent.
But Ignatieff's campaign has come under fire after the Etobicoke-Lakeshore MP called a July 30 Israeli air strike on the Lebanese village of Qana a war crime. He has clarified that remark by saying he meant a tragic consequence of war, and that such 'war crimes' were committed by both Israeli forces and Hezbollah.
"He is a front-runner within the party and usually when you're a front runner you don't like to become the centre of controversy," said Axworthy. "To give your opponents a clear line of attack is not the usual front-runner strategy."
Kennedy and Dion share a tie for third with almost 17 per cent of the delegate vote.
The poll showed a Conservative lead of 36 per cent of decided voter support (down from 38.7 per cent in mid-September) while the Liberals climbed to 31.7 per cent of support (up from 28.8 per cent last month).
"They're quite a long ways from a majority so they'll be concerned that the Liberals are within striking distance even without a leader," said Axworthy.
But the numbers could also have been influenced on recent decisions from the Conservative government.
"They can't be too upset because they've made some hard decisions around Afghanistan and a variety of other choices," said Axworthy. "If you were a Conservative you'd be saying that we've taken the tough decisions and the good news will flow a little later."
The poll showed the New Democrats at 16.2 per cent nationally, the Bloc Québécois at 9.9 per cent and the Green Party at 6.2.
CTV.ca News Staff
Among Canadians, Bob Rae is the preferred choice over Michael Ignatieff to win the Liberal leadership race -- even thought they think Ignatieff has a better chance of winning the next federal election for the Liberals, a Toronto Star/EKOS poll has concluded.
The 1,211 Canadians polled between Oct. 10-12 gave Rae 26 per cent of the public vote while Ignatieff received 21 per cent. Former Ontario education minister Gerard Kennedy and Quebec MP Stephane Dion both received 12 per cent of the vote.
"This is good news for the Rae camp," Liberal party strategist Tom Axworthy told CTV Newsnet. "Bob Rae has been a public figure for 25 years ... so he is a name that Canadians know and I think that many Canadians are comfortable with him."
But the poll also suggests that Canadians think Ignatieff will have a better chance of winning in the next federal election.
On that question, he captured 30 per cent of the public vote while Rae garnered 26 per cent. Kennedy received 10 per cent of the vote while Dion received 9 per cent.
Ignatieff is also the clear front-runner among party delegates who will vote for the new Liberal leader at the party's December leadership convention. He has just over 29 per cent of the first-ballot delegate support while Rae trails with about 20 per cent.
But Ignatieff's campaign has come under fire after the Etobicoke-Lakeshore MP called a July 30 Israeli air strike on the Lebanese village of Qana a war crime. He has clarified that remark by saying he meant a tragic consequence of war, and that such 'war crimes' were committed by both Israeli forces and Hezbollah.
"He is a front-runner within the party and usually when you're a front runner you don't like to become the centre of controversy," said Axworthy. "To give your opponents a clear line of attack is not the usual front-runner strategy."
Kennedy and Dion share a tie for third with almost 17 per cent of the delegate vote.
The poll showed a Conservative lead of 36 per cent of decided voter support (down from 38.7 per cent in mid-September) while the Liberals climbed to 31.7 per cent of support (up from 28.8 per cent last month).
"They're quite a long ways from a majority so they'll be concerned that the Liberals are within striking distance even without a leader," said Axworthy.
But the numbers could also have been influenced on recent decisions from the Conservative government.
"They can't be too upset because they've made some hard decisions around Afghanistan and a variety of other choices," said Axworthy. "If you were a Conservative you'd be saying that we've taken the tough decisions and the good news will flow a little later."
The poll showed the New Democrats at 16.2 per cent nationally, the Bloc Québécois at 9.9 per cent and the Green Party at 6.2.
Maggiemygosh @ Sat Oct 14, 2006 2:10 pm
That proves beyond a shadow of any doubt that Boob Rae and those idiot Lieberals are completely incompetent and corrupt.
Boob Rae gave Ontario a $300 Billion debt. Boob Rae shut down 72% of medical students opportunity to become a doctor or a nurse and that communist idiot son of a bitch got rid of 480 small to medium size businesses to the USA. That cost a ton of jobs in Ontario.
The Lieberals like the NDP suck suck suck and are complete idiots !!!
They have proven that over and over and over again.
.
Firecat @ Sat Oct 14, 2006 2:15 pm
Maggiemygosh Maggiemygosh:
That proves beyond a shadow of any doubt that Boob Rae and those idiot Lieberals are completely incompetent and corrupt.
Boob Rae gave Ontario a $300 Billion debt. Boob Rae shut down 72% of medical students opportunity to become a doctor or a nurse and that communist idiot son of a bitch got rid of 480 small to medium size businesses to the USA. That cost a ton of jobs in Ontario.
The Lieberals like the NDP suck suck suck and are complete idiots !!!
They have proven that over and over and over again.
.
Boob Rae gave Ontario a $300 Billion debt. Boob Rae shut down 72% of medical students opportunity to become a doctor or a nurse and that communist idiot son of a bitch got rid of 480 small to medium size businesses to the USA. That cost a ton of jobs in Ontario.
The Lieberals like the NDP suck suck suck and are complete idiots !!!
They have proven that over and over and over again.
.
The fact that the public prefers one candidate over another proves the liberals are incompetent and corrupt.?
Zeipher @ Sat Oct 14, 2006 3:24 pm
If anything this shows that the Liberals are more competant that the general public, as they have thrown most of their support behind Iggy.
Maggiemygosh @ Sat Oct 14, 2006 3:49 pm
Iggy is a racist pig and a bigot along with being another LIAR which is so typical of the Lieberals like Trudeau, Chretien and Martin. Communists you bet. Corrupt. You bet. Liars. You bet. Incompetent. You bet. Idiots absolutelty!!
Arctic_Menace @ Sat Oct 14, 2006 4:18 pm
$1:
Iggy is a racist pig and a bigot
How so?
But yeah, evidently the public doesn't realise how bad he fucked up Ontario.
canada_bruno @ Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:21 pm
If Bob Rae is the leader of the Liberal party all I can say to that is...
Conservative Majority Government on the way.
superchase @ Thu Oct 26, 2006 10:51 pm
Having voted Liberal the last time out, I have to admit that this is probably the weakest group the Liberals have ever fielded for national leader. Both Rae and Stephene Dion look like a bunch of well-known, over-the-hill has beens. Kennedy doesn't speak French well-enough and looks like a lightweight. The only one who appears to have enough spark and fire in his belly to overtake Harper is Michael Ignatieff. However, his views on Iraq, Quebec and Israel are very controversial and he appears to jump the gun too soon. Given his impulsive nature, I doubt if he'd make a very good Prime Minister. He doesn't seem to have the patience nor experience to fill this job. His remarks about Quebec as a 'nation within a nation' are cause for concern, because he sounds like someone who'll say or do anything to get elected. His flip-flop on Iraq is not encouraging. The Liberals need a steadier, more principled hand, and Bob Rae might actually stand up better in Parliament for them.
Despite all of his flaws and his dismal record as Ontario premier, Rae has significant parliamentary/provincial legislature experience and is every bit as intelligent as Michael Ignatieff. However, even if the Liberals are defeated in the next election, it's not a disaster. A bit of time in the wilderness is what they probably need in order to re-build the party and to attract fresh young blood. It might not even be all that bad if there were another minority Conservative government.
In any event, today's leadership candidates can at best be described as caretakers for whomever comes afterwards. Perhaps in a future leadership contest, younger yet qualified individuals like Denny Codere will step up to the plate. They can provide real leadership and a greater reason for new, especially younger recruits to join the Liberal Party.
hwacker @ Thu Oct 26, 2006 10:53 pm
Bob Rae all the way. This is great news.
hwacker @ Thu Oct 26, 2006 10:58 pm
Avro Avro:
hwacker hwacker:
Bob Rae all the way. This is great news.
Why, do you want to lose to him rather than Iggy?
Not going to happen on either account.
grainfedprairieboy @ Thu Oct 26, 2006 11:00 pm
hwacker hwacker:
Bob Rae all the way. This is great news.
grainfedprairieboy @ Thu Oct 26, 2006 11:01 pm
hwacker hwacker:
Bob Rae all the way. This is great news.
Edit: A post so nice I posted it twice.
superchase @ Thu Oct 26, 2006 11:14 pm
If current trends continue, there may be another Conservative minority government. With a better-than average economy and a leaderless Liberal Party, the Tories should be well out in front of them. However, Stephn Harper's gloomy personality and his inability to connect with urban Canadians will hamper and probably prevent them acheiving a majority. Plus, the Tories govern far too greatly from Alberta and for the special interests there. Although he is from Ontario, Harper has little appeal in his home province and Quebec. Surely the cities don't care him very much. While the Liberals are lacking in a leadership hopeful who can drive them to victory, the Tories have the same problem with Harper. They really need a leader from Central Canada or even the Maratimes. Maybe Jean Charest could fill that void? But his problem is that the Alberta faction of the Conservative Party wouldn't have any part of having a Quebec leader again. Since he's already switched parties, Charest might well find a home in the federal Liberal Party and run for leader in the future should the current crop of candidates fail in their quest for Canada's top job.