If the conservatives move to the centre, then inevitably, a bunch of disgruntled rednecks will form a new reform-minded conservative party which will steal votes from the mainstream conservative party giving the Liberals another decade of majorities, and the possibility of the Bloc as official opposition (if we're lucky). -1 point for run-on sentence

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Harper is a non-charismatic leader who will never be really popular. People should get over it already. The reality is the Conservative Party won 38% support last election, close to majority territory, and thats because they have policies that make the most sense for Canada.

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"The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. " — John Stuart Mill

It doesn't matter to me if he's charasmatic. I never mentioned anything about his charisma or his wonderful sweaters - and that's not the reason I think he won't get a majority.

How many tries do you think he should have to get a majority?

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Everyone on this board should watch this again: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE Keep the debate intelligent!

One more.

I still would respect and admire him if he never gets a majority, because he has made the Conservative Party into a viable alternative.

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"The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. " — John Stuart Mill

I agree - 1 more chance is all he should get.

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Everyone on this board should watch this again: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE Keep the debate intelligent!

The Tories' federal leadership advantage has evaporated since Michael Ignatieff took over the Liberal helm, a new poll suggests.

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey released today indicates that the newly minted Liberal leader is viewed more favourably than either Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper or NDP Leader Jack Layton.

Ignatieff was the only one of the three to score a net positive rating. Forty-three per cent of respondents said they had a favourable impression of him versus 32 per cent who had an unfavourable opinion.

Harper was viewed favourably by 43 per cent and unfavourably by 49 per cent, relatively unchanged since last October's election.

Layton was seen positively by 37 per cent and negatively by 49 per cent of respondents, almost a complete reversal since the closing days of the election campaign when the NDP leader was the most favourably viewed national leader.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/585287

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Everyone on this board should watch this again: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE Keep the debate intelligent!

Ignatiaff has peaked, which is bad for him. This is very typical for a new party leader to have high ratings after his selection. His overall popularity will tank once he is forced to take positions on issues and is defined by Conservative Party and NDP ads. The Bloc will also brand him in Quebec as a pro-war, pro American leader who is just as "evil" as Harper, which will force his support down in that province.

Also, Harper should get a huge boost today after signing an environmental pact with Obama. Canadians aimlessly "love" Obama, for no apparent reason other than he is not George Bush. Harper's photo-op with him will help his ratings.

The economy should improve later this year, and will without a doubt help Harper more than Ignatiaff.

It is looking better for Harper and the Conservatives in the long-term.

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"The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. " — John Stuart Mill

a huge deficit will HELP harper?

the conservative party is the liberal party for the west. harper will never win over ontario and quebec.

i can't find the macleans article i read called conservatism is dead... a much better analysis, i feel.

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What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.

Classic dittbub, a few months back you were complaining how people needed jobs and support, now that Harper is doing that with a stimulus package you complain about deficits.

You are a classic Liberal fence sitter/flip flopper. You will definately LOVE Ignatiaff, a man who is flip flopping by the day.

Conservatism is dead, for a while. As much as I think the stimulus package/deficit is absolutely useless, it was needed for the budget to gain bipartisan support in this minority parliament and was also necessary for international cooperation on stimulus. Almost every country and province is producing a deficit, no one will blame Harper for doing the same in tough times. The key is Harper has a plan to get it of out in four years.

The Conservative Party IS winning Ontario. Ontario has a long history of electing conservative governments provincially, it is no surprise the federal Conservatives under Ontario-born Harper are enjoying good popularity and making huge gains in the province.

Who cares if the Conservatives never win over Quebec, the Bloc will win that province and I have no problem with that. Given Harper's recent alienation of the seperatists (who are viewed as "legitimate" in Quebec), I bet he will forget about campaigning in Quebec from now on. Reality is, the 25 seats up for grabs (50 always go to the Bloc) are not worth the bending over backwards for. With more seats soon to be added to Ontario and western Canada, Quebec will soon become a moot point.

Also, I have no problems with Canada being governed by a predominently western Party. Its better than being governed by Quebec-centric Liberal elitists.

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"The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. " — John Stuart Mill

OTTAWA – The opposition Liberals have edged ahead of the Conservatives in popular support but not by enough to be sure of winning an election now, according to the largest poll ever conducted in Canada.

The Ekos survey of almost 11,000 Canadians – more than 10 times the usual polling size – put the Liberals at 33.5 per cent support and the Conservatives at 32.3 per cent.

The results are another indication that despite recent talk of an imminent election, Canadians will not be voting any time soon. The Ekos poll, conducted over three weeks in May for the CBC, was released Monday.

Under Canada's first-past-the-post electoral system, a party needs to win around 36 per cent of the vote to win a minority government and about 40 per cent to stand a chance of capturing a majority.

More:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/643570

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Everyone on this board should watch this again: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE Keep the debate intelligent!