Wednesday October 5, 2011
By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 5, 2011
Harper’s talk of Tory trifecta handicaps Hudak
Stephen Harper’s public musings about a Conservative hat trick – Tories ruling Ottawa, Queen’s Park and Toronto’s city hall – is more chilling than warming for Ontario Progressive Conservatives, new polling data suggests.
Ditto for the high-profile endorsement by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty of PC chief Tim Hudak last week.
“Ontario voters have always shown a tendency to hedge their bets between the two senior levels of government,” EKOS Research pollster Frank Graves told The Globe.
He noted that Bill Davis was Progressive Conservative premier during Pierre Trudeau’s tenure, then there was Tory Mike Harris during the Jean Chrétien’s time in government and now there’s Dalton McGuinty and Mr. Harper.
The latest EKOS poll numbers suggest a strong Conservative majority in Ottawa “predisposes” Ontarians not to vote for Mr. Hudak. In fact, about three to one “lean to be less rather than more likely to vote Conservative,” Mr. Graves said.
Released Monday, the EKOS survey gives the Liberals a seven point lead over the Tories – with 37.8 per cent support for Mr. McGuinty compared to 30. 6 per cent for Mr. Hudak. Andrea Horwath and her New Democrats are at 22.7 per cent.
That tally is in contrast to the Nanos Research survey conducted for The Globe and Mail and CTV. It shows the Tories and Liberals locked in a dead heat, with 35.6 per cent support for Mr. McGuinty compared to 36.4 per cent for Mr. Hudak. (Source: Globe & Mail)