Leadership Poll Says Nothing

Decima surveyed Canadians about who they would like to see as the Liberal leader. A poll like this, so early in the contest, is virtually meaningless. Not surprisingly, the results reflected name-recognition rather than real support, or, more importantly, organizational strength.

Decima says their poll "suggests Mr. Rae, Mr. Ignatieff, Ms. Stronach and Mr. Brison have remarkably similar support among voters ". That support is all below 10%, showing this poll is largely a media exercise.

The interesting nugget in the poll is how these potential leaders, all relatively new to the Liberal ranks, would impact supporters of other parties.

But the poll found Mr. Rae could lure away the most NDP voters (40 per cent) while Mr. Brison and Mr. Ignatieff could lure away the most Conservative voters (31 per cent each). At 25 per cent, Ms. Stronach was the least popular among those planning to vote Tory.

Not surprising that Bob Rae could attract more New Democrats, given that he was one and, as we have noted, is still not a Liberal.

Gerard Kennedy is ready to run, according to the Hill Times, in an article describing how membership forms will be handed out, always a contentious issue.

The House opens today and Ralph Klein was crushed in Alberta by his own party. Harsh. Who would have thought Ralph would have faced such a Joe Clark moment?