Ottawa

UPDATED AGAIN: How to make ITQ cranky in one easy step (an occasional series)

Put out stories about polls without the full details, especially the all important regional breakdowns. Grrr.

In protest, I shall refrain from sharing my (no doubt hotly anticipated) thoughts on What It All Means until we get all the data. Well, other than to note that so far, it looks there’s no agreement on whether Those Ads! ™ are working brilliantly, backfiring spectacularly, or are pretty much a wash, as far as changing the numbers in any significant way:

[W]hile 42 per cent of poll respondents said their opinion of Ignatieff worsened after seeing the ad about the Liberal leader, 50 per cent said their opinion of Harper also worsened.

While the ad attempts to portray Ignatieff as an arrogant elitist, Canadians actually think Harper is the more arrogant, said Mario Canseco, vice-president of Angus Reid Strategies. And the reaction of the respondents who watched Ignatieff’s rebuttal – airing on YouTube – was “remarkably positive.”

Ignatieff’s time in Britain and the United States is so far a “non-issue” for voters, Canseco said.

(I should probably also point out that, as “remarkably positive” as the response may have been to Ignatieff’s initial rebuttal to the “Just Visiting” campaign, it’s worth noting that so far, it’s a Youtube-only phenomenon, which is why I’d be curious to see what percentage of respondents actually got around to watching it.)

UPDATEHurray for Ekos!

The largest-ever survey of Canadians’ vote intentions reveals a see-saw race between the ruling Conservatives and the opposition Liberals, shifting as erratically as the morning’s headlines. Most recently, the Liberals received a statistically significant bump after the government’s bad deficit news last week.

Your move Way to go, Angus Reid!

The opposition Liberal Party has recovered its strength in Ontario, as a series of ads that criticize Michael Ignatieff have failed to provide a boost to the governing Conservative Party, a new Toronto Star / Angus Reid poll has found.

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.