Harper hurt by parliament suspension as EKOS poll places Tories and Liberals in virtual tie

A poll last week by EKOS shows the Liberals have regained some support among voters and are now in a virtual tie with the Conservatives despite the government’s Haiti recovery efforts. Around Christmas, Harper polled around 40 percent compared to Michael Ignatieff trailing at the 23 percent mark. Ignatieff, whose nosedive in the polls reflected levels of Stephane Dion’s disastrous reign the year before, has made a comeback in vote-rich Ontario and Atlantic Canada, as well as gaining popularity with younger voters.

The poll suggests that if an election were held tomorrow, 30.9 per cent of those polled chose the Liberals and 31.5 per cent would back the Conservatives. 14.9 per cent of respondents supportedthe NDP, 11.5 per cent the Green Party and 9.1 per cent the Bloc Québécois.

The poll also highlights the mixed feelings among voters when it comes to the performance of their government. Forty-five per cent feel the government is moving in the right direction while  42 per cent believe they are moving in the wrong direction.

It seems as if Harper’s strategy to prorogue parliament until the federal budget is revealed has hurt him in the short term among voters, but as quickly as polls change, I suspect by March Harper will make a comeback as the storm dies off and parliament gets back to business.