POLL RESULTS SUPPORT HILL’S CALL FOR
DAY’S RESIGNATION
May 17, 2001
OTTAWA- Yesterday, Canadian Alliance
MP Jay Hill (Prince George – Peace River) released the
results of polling conducted in his riding that substantiate
his claim that the Canadian Alliance will not survive
under the leadership of Stockwell Day.
The scientific poll, conducted by
Feedback Research Corp., showed that:
In the past six months Hill has lost
close to half (49%) of the support of those who voted
for him in November 2000.
When asked to rate their impression
of the Leader of the Alliance on a scale of 1 to 10,
where 1 is “poor” and 10 is “excellent”, Stockwell Day
received an average rating of 3.83, well below that
of the Alliance at 5.06 and Hill at 5.01
When asked to rate their impression
of Stockwell Day 36% of 2000 Alliance voters in Prince
George - Peace River give an impression score of 1 (out
of 10), where 1 (one) represented the lowest rating
available - “not at all impressed”. These are people
who should be sympathetic to him considering they supported
him in a federal election six months ago.
“When given the opportunity to have
their say on whether Day should stay or go, only 27%
of those who supported Day six months ago were of the
opinion that he should stay on as leader of the party.”
commented Hill, “Mr. Day should realize that the grass
roots have spoken and that it is time for him
to start listening to what they are saying.”
The polling results appeared on page
A4 of this morning’s Globe and Mail (copy attached).
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PUBLICATION
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GLOBE AND MAIL
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DATE:
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THU MAY.17,2001
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PAGE:
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A4
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BYLINE:
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BRIAN LAGHI
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CLASS:
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National News
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EDITION:
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Metro DATELINE: Ottawa ON
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B.C.
riding poll shows Alliance slipping
BRIAN LAGHI
OTTAWA A new poll in the heartland of the Canadian Alliance
shows the incumbent MP would lose half of his electoral
support if a vote were held today -- a decline attributed
to the slumping popularity of leader Stockwell Day. Of
Alliance voters polled in the riding of party stalwart
Jay Hill, the MP for Prince George-Peace River, only 51
per cent said they would vote for him again. Seventeen
per cent said they would simply not cast a ballot, while
the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives each creamed
off 9 per cent of the supporters who had voted for Mr.
Hill.
"This decline in support is closely
linked to the comparatively poor image of the Alliance
Leader," said a memorandum written for Mr. Hill by
polling firm Feedback Research Corp.
Mr. Hill, who
has called for Mr. Day's resignation and has been suspended
from caucus, said the poll may mean danger for the party
in his riding. In the November election, Mr. Hill captured
70 per cent of the votes.
"I think
very clearly the poll says that Stockwell Day is the problem,"
he said. "It's of great concern to me. This poll
indicates an extremely disastrous erosion of support for
the Canadian Alliance in Prince George-Peace River."
Andre Turcotte,
the president of Feedback Research and the Alliance/Reform
Party's former pollster, said the poll demonstrates that
the party doesn't have much resilience. Alliance voters
do not seem to share the loyalty found among those who
support the more traditional parties, he said.
The poll, conducted
last weekend, surveyed 300 residents who voted for the
Alliance in the federal election.The margin of error for
the poll is 4.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The poll also
asked respondents to rate their impression of Mr. Day
on a scale of one to 10. Mr. Day received and average
rating of 3.8 -- well below the Alliance itself at 5.1
and Mr. Hill, who rated a 5.
When asked about
the future of the Alliance Leader, 27 per cent said he
should stay on, while 29 per cent said he should quit.
The rest wouldn't say or did not know.
The poll also appears to show that the
party may have suffered permanent damage in the past six
months. Thirty-two per cent of respondents said they would
be less likely to vote Alliance, while 14 per cent said
they would be more likely.
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