Conservatives are Neck and Neck with the Liberals

I needed some good news today, and I got it:

Tory polling shows party neck and neck with Liberals

Belief growing Harper could lead minority or squeak to slim majority, sources say

By BRIAN LAGHI
Friday, April 9, 2004 - Page A4

OTTAWA -- Stephen Harper is having a hard time staying underrated.

Three weeks after taking the helm of the new party, talk of a new internal poll has made Conservative MPs more buoyant about the future than they have been in a decade, and that's not necessarily the best news for a leader whose fortunes have risen on consistently being taken too lightly.

Sources told The Globe and Mail that the survey, done by party pollster Praxicus Public Strategies, shows the Conservatives almost neck and neck with the federal Liberals outside of Quebec. According to the poll, the Grits have the support of 32 per cent of the voting public outside the province, with the Conservatives running about a percentage point behind.

News of the poll tore through the party this week, leading some MPs to conclude that the Conservatives will hold the Liberals to a bare minority, and maybe even form a minority themselves after the next election.

"People are openly musing about it may be a minority government, but who would be the minority government?" long-time MP Chuck Strahl asked.

"I think that's still a modest expectation, but it's well within reality. It's not so grandiose that it makes you look cocky. It's just a confluence of things that are happening."

According to sources, party pollster Dimitri Pantazopolous told the caucus last week that an increasing portion of Ontario voters have switched from the Liberal Party to the undecided category.
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This article goes on to dither quite a bit about how the liberals are picking up strength out west and that in ontario and eastern canada, they are going to get rocked......it states...maybe the conservatives will pick up 70-75 seats.

which just points out how short sighted and biased the eastern media is.first off, the liberals aren't going to win anything out here. they picked ujjal dosanjh to run for office out here. do they recall that Ujj didn't even win his own seat while he was premier?

secondly, the alliance and tories always poll lower between elections....people like thinking sometimes ....especially out west that they are liberal minded (and they are) or that they are accepting and whatnot. the problem arises during elections where the west is reminded over and over again that they don't count out east and that the only people who are looking out for them are the conservatives. harper is a westerner, so is a huge chunk of the alliance. they aren't going to lose any seats, and will, if anything, pick up western seats because the liberals blew it with yet another 'quebec problem'. count on at least 60 western conservative seats...

now for ontario.....even a conservative estimate is looking at somewhere in the neighbourhood of 20-25 seats...out over 100....notice how martin is trying to shore up support in the rural ridings west of toronto? he's trying to reel them back into liberal hands. won't cut it this time...

quebec? well...the conservatives aren't going to win there...but neither are the grits.

Maritimes? this is a toss up. you've got elsie wayne and peter mckay backing you up big time in your east coast swings...if bernard lord ever cares to turn out and support the party, you might actually have the conservatives hitting their stride out east. i'd bet on 10-15 seats.

overall, you are looking at least around 100 seats for the conservatives....possibly upwards of 120 if ontario ever starts to get its act together and throw out the amoral idiots occupying the parliament these days.