48% Of Canadians Say U.S. Relations Worsening

Another 63 per cent of Canadians believe the U.S. is responsible for what they see as a souring relationship, while 28 per cent say it is Canada's fault. Interestingly, Canadians were very balanced on their opinion about the pointed comments exchanged recently between Prime Minister Paul Martin and U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins. When asked how they felt about Martin's criticism of the U.S. efforts to reduce global warming, 61 per cent of those polled said Martin has the responsibility to make such statements during an election. When asked how they felt about Wilkins' criticism of Martin's statements, 56 per cent of Canadians said Wilkins had the responsibility to express the U.S. point of view. Thirty-five per cent of Canadians thought the Prime Minister was out of line, and 37 per cent thought Wilkins was out of line. Across Canada, the poll results indicate little change in how Canadians would vote if an election were held today. Only the Conservatives and the Green Party show any change whatsoever. (Shown in brackets is the percentage-point change since a pre-election benchmark poll taken Nov. 24 to 27): Liberals: 34 per cent (-1) Conservative: 30 per cent (+1) NDP: 17 per cent (unchanged) Bloc Quebecois: 14 per cent (unchanged) Green Party: 5 per cent (unchanged) Provincially, the poll results also tell the tale of key battleground provinces where parties are working hard to win seats. In Quebec, the Liberals have gained some ground, with 25 per cent of those polled saying they would vote Liberal if the election were held today, up three points. The Conservatives held steady at nine per cent, the NDP stayed at six per cent, the Green Party dropped two points to four per cent, and the Bloc dropped from 57 per cent to 56. According to the current numbers, Woolstencroft said the Liberals probably have between five and seven guaranteed seats in that province, mostly in Anglophone Quebec. But he said he expects that number to rise to between 10 and 15 in the last few weeks of the campaign. "It does illustrate how serious the situation is in Quebec right now," he said of the current poor Liberal standings in Quebec. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051213/elxn_poll_uscanada_051215/20051215?s_name=election2006&no_ads=

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