Polls Now Show Canadians Don't Support a Harper Dictatorship

Stephen Harper gambled that Canadians wouldn't care that he had thrown off the shackles of a democratically elected Parliament, and placed himself as supreme ruler.

He gambled that Canadians wouldn't care that he could be complicit in the torture of Afghan Detainees, many of them innocent farmers and villagers.

And he gambled that the press would continue to sing his praises, and applaud his conniving power grab.

Stephen Harper shouldn't gamble.


A new Ekos poll shows he's plummeted to barely 33%, (while the Liberals are up. Yeah!) and the Facebook group Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament now has 93,492 members and counting. (be sure to join if you haven't already. There are also some great tips on getting your message out and your voice heard)

But perhaps a more significant poll, is one dealing directly with Harper's decision to prorogue. 53% of Canadians oppose the move, and this could go up as more of the media finally wake up and start calling this what it really is. A move to make his the only voice in Canada.

CBC also conducted their own online poll and as of a few minutes ago these were the results to the question Prorogued Parliament: Should it have happened?

Yes 7% (603 votes)
No 92% (7,644 votes)
Not sure 1% (58 votes)
Total Votes: 8,305

Majority condemn Harper move, poll finds
Survey conducted for the Star finds little support for prorogation
Richard J. Brennan OTTAWA BUREAU
January 7, 2010

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper was wrong to suspend Parliament for what many Canadians believe were selfish reasons, according to poll done for the Toronto Star.

The Angus Reid public opinion poll released Thursday found that 53 per cent of Canadians disagreed with Harper's decision to prorogue Parliament, despite the Prime Minister's insistence it was a routine constitutional matter.

Even more than half of the Conservative supporters surveyed said they opposed the decision, while 46 per cent agreed with it.

The poll results also show that 38 per cent of respondents believed Harper pulled the plug on Parliament to thwart a parliamentary committee's probe into the treatment of Afghan prisoners.

Parliament was scheduled to return Jan. 25 but instead will not return until March 3, when there will be a throne speech followed by a budget the next day.

According to the online survey of 1,019 Canadian adults conducted Jan. 5-6, 53 per cent turned thumbs down to prorogation while 19 per cent agreed with the move and another 28 per cent were undecided.

The rejection of the decision to prorogue Parliament was highest in Ontario, at 59 per cent, and lowest in the Prairie provinces — 50 per cent in Alberta and 48 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

NDP MP Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre) said the backlash is widespread and crosses partisan lines.

"People are angry," Dewar said, noting he has received about 500 emails from across the country complaining about the decision to shutter Parliament.