Support For Harper Government "Plunges" – Global Warming Seen as Key Factor

onDec 19, 2007 @ 15:01 PST

A Harris-Decima poll released today shows that the governing Tory party in Canada, under the leadership of Prime Minister Harper is losing popularity quickly due in large part to their performance at the recent United Nation’s global warming conference held in Bali, Indonesia.

The Harper government now finds itself in a statistical tie at 30% with the opposition Liberal Party.

Support for the Tories has dropped across all regions and demographic groups.

The poll conducted by Harris-Decima finds that Tory popularity has dropped 11% in Quebec, 17% in British Columbia and a whopping 20% in Prime Minister Harper’s home-province of Alberta.

While stating various causes for the recent drop, Harris-Decima president Bruce Anderson speculated that the government’s reluctance to sign onto global greenhouse gas reduction targets in Bali cost the Tories support among urban, women and Quebec voters, who tend to be more environmentally conscious.

This research today confirms the results of a poll released earlier this week that found the Harper government taking on water over their stance on the environment and climate change. Pollster Angus Reid stated that, “the environment remains the most important issue in this country … and this is an issue the Harperites haven’t understood.”

On a similar note, if you haven’t done so already, please click here and join DeSmogBlog’s new Facebook group we’re calling: “The Environment is My voting Issue in Canada.”

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By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.