Category Archives: ndp

That’s A Funny Lookin’ Surge

conservative party, green party, ndp, polls

Headline in today’s Globe and Mail: “Tories surge on Harper’s leadership.” You probably read that and thought, “oh, I guess that means that the Tories have surged.” But you’d be wrong, you silly fool you.

Read the first paragraph to see that the poll found that, “Stephen Harper is the most decisive federal leader.” He’s decisive alright, in a George Bush “I’m the decider” kind of way. Never mind that just because you’re “decisive” doesn’t mean you’re making the right decisions.

Get to the third paragraph, and you find out that the Harper government is at thirty four per cent. Only zero-point-seven per cent more than a third, and two percentage points less than they got in the last election.

Where’s the surge?

Oh wait, there it is. “The main beneficiary appears to be the Green Party, which has the support of twelve per cent of voters.” That puts us ahead of the Bloc at eleven per cent, and just two points behind the NDP at fourteen.

Ok, so I tracked down the surge. The only thing I’m missing now is the part where the electorate is being accurately represented. The whole article is writen as if thirty four per cent is a huge amount of support. It’s not, and Harper should stop behaving otherwise.

Yay for Democracy Part I

conservative party, democracy and good government, green party, liberal party, ndp, polls

Two days ago I asked you to be skeptical of any political party that has a death-bed conversion to the world of environmental sanity. Yesterday, Decima released a poll that proves once again that every single Canadian not only reads my blog, but also does everything I say.

The poll’s most encouraging finding? You’re not buying it.

A new poll suggests Canadians view all the major federal political parties with a lot of skepticism when it comes to environmental policy.The survey by Decima Research, provided to The Canadian Press, found that respondents by a four-to-one margin see recent Conservative green announcements as being driven by public opinion, not genuine commitment.

Oh, and guess what else:

When Decima asked how respondents would vote if the environment was the only issue in the next election, the Green Party led with 24 per cent support. The Conservatives and Liberals were essentially tied, 17-16, while the NDP attracted just 10 per cent support and the Bloc Quebecois only four per cent.

I don’t expect the environment to be the only issue in the next election, but it’s a pretty darned important one. (As in, “if you don’t have a planet, then, well….”) Onward and upward.

11%

green party, ndp, polls

You really shouldn’t pay attention to polls. They distract from real issues. They unduly influence elections. They contribute to strategic voting. They’re not good for your health.

Except, of course, when you’re doing really well in them. Then they’re kinda fun.

A new Environics poll out yesterday has the Green Party of Canada at 11% nationally. From the release:

The other noticeable trend is the continued growth in support for the Green Party (now at 11%, up 4 since Sept-October, and up 7 since June). Over the same period, support for the New Democratic Party has declined to 14 percent of Canadian voters (down 4 points since Sept-October, and down 7 points since June).

Presented for your information.

I’d Be Grumpy Too

green party, ndp, polls

I think I know why the NDP have been so grumpy lately. They must have had some advance knowledge of this poll:

It suggested the Liberals had the support of 35 per cent of respondents while the Tories were at 31 per cent, the NDP was at 12 per cent and the Green party was at 10 per cent.

Yikes! Only a two-point gap stands between the NDP and being knocked out of their perpetual third place. I wonder what the margin of error was for that poll…

The Decima poll of 1,025 respondents was conducted from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3, and is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points 19 times in 20.

Uh-oh. The NDP/Green gap is within the margin of error. This is what they call a “statistical tie.” Plus, the NDP — and the Conservatives for that matter — are probably still hurting from losing to the Green Party in the London North Centre by election. How embarrassing is that. ;-)

Keep watching those grey political skies. They may clear up soon.