Poll: Dion won French Debate

This is from Canwest News Service. This poll certainly is not in accord with the popular vote polls in Quebec. Perhaps it reflects a Montreal bias but I don't really know. Dion should be heartened by the results and Duceppe certainly did well also in comparison with Harper. Harper really seems to have blown it in Quebec and this may sabotage any chance of his winning a majority.



Thursday » October 2 » 2008

Dion won French debate: Poll

Canwest News Service
Thursday, October 02, 2008
CREDIT: Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images
Forty per cent of respondents who watched the debate said Stephan Dion won, compared with 16 per cent for Stephen Harper.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion emerged as the clear winner of the French debate, according to an Ipsos Reid poll for Canwest News Service and Global National late Wednesday night.
Forty per cent of respondents who watched the debate said Dion won, compared with 24 per cent for Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe, 16 per cent for Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, 11 per cent for NDP Leader Jack Layton, and one per cent for Green Leader Elizabeth May.
Twenty per cent of the French-speaking Canadians surveyed said they have changed their mind about who to vote for on Oct. 14 after watching the debate.
The poll also asked respondents to reveal who sounded and acted most like a prime minister. Some 36 per cent said that Dion was a better leader, with Harper at 31 per cent, Duceppe was third at 17 per cent with Layton at 12 per cent and May at one per cent.
On having the best ideas and policy, Dion was on top with 41 per cent choosing him. Duceppe was second at 22 per cent, Layton was next at 13 per cent and May was at one per cent.
The Ipsos Reid poll also asked respondents to measure whether their impressions of the leaders improved, or worsened. Pollsters then determined their net score.
Dion was once again on top with a net improvement of 56 per cent, the largest gain among the leaders. Layton improved with a score of 48 per cent, while Duceppe improved by 30 per cent. May's position improved among voters, who scored her with a net gain of 24 per cent. Harper suffered the biggest drop, with 53 per cent finding their impressions worsened.
The survey of 637 French-speaking Canadians who watched the debate was taken online following the debate and is accurate to within 3.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The survey is accurate to within 3.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
© Canwest News Service 2008

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