P.M. Insists He Doesn’t Want Election
Posted February 20, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
You don’t have to be a groundhog to see the signs of spring.
And you don’t have to a politician to see the signs of the election.
There are the attacks ads that have been airing over the past few weeks, questioning new Liberal chief Stephane Dion’s ability as a leader.
There’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper making a big announcement on AIDS funding in the company of the world’s richest man, Bill Gates.
There was a budget date announced on Tuesday – March 19th. The document will be a matter of confidence and could trigger a spring vote if the opposition won’t support it.
And there’s a new Decima Research poll that indicates the Tories hold a two percentage point lead over the rival Grits. (See full results below.)
So why is Harper continuing to insist he’s not campaigning for anything?
“I don’t think Canadians want an election,” he demurs. “I’m in no hurry to have an election. I simply want to see us move forward.”
But Dion maintains the fact the poll only gives his opponent a slight lead is a sign that all is not rosy in the land of the blue Tories. He notes they garnered 36 percent of the vote in the last election. Now it’s down to just 32.
“He’s been prime minister for a year and I think a large majority of Canadians still have a problem with him,” Dion opines. “Canadians will get to know me … We’ll deliver a huge number of very interesting ideas and you will see the results.”
The question now isn’t if those results will come but when. And many are betting it could happen sometime in the spring.
Decima Poll Numbers
Canada
Conservatives 32%
Liberals 30%
NDP 15%
Green Party 11%
Ontario
Liberals 40%
Conservatives 30%
NDP 17%
Green Party 12%
Quebec
(where an all important provincial election is expected to be called on Wednesday)
Bloc Quebecois 37%
Liberals 25%
Conservatives 17%
Green Party 8%
NDP 7%
