Sunday, September 19, 2010

Leaders stable as fringe parties make gains

I was in Toronto for the weekend so I wasn't able to update the site with yesterday's TJ/CRA numbers. I didn't miss much, however, as both the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives remained stable.
They are unchanged at 38% and 48%, respectively. The New Democrats are down one point to 9%.

Perhaps more interesting is that both the Greens and the People's Alliance have gained one point, and now stand at 5% and 1%, respectively. While that doesn't get them any closer to winning a seat, it does indicate that perhaps the debates have given them more of a profile. This poll is the first to completely include the two days of debates on the 14th and 15th.

Of course, this is only a tiny gain so it could be nothing but variation within the margin of error, but it is interesting nevertheless.

In terms of seats, there are no changes from Friday - still 37 Progressive Conservatives, 17 Liberals, and one New Democrat.

Along with their parties, David Alward and Shawn Graham's personal popularity has remained unchanged. Alward is at 31% (47% of decideds) and Graham is at 25% (38% of decideds). Note that both leaders are at about the same level of support as their parties, something that was not the case at the beginning of the campaign.

Roger Duguay is at 6%, down one point (9% of undecideds). Jack MacDougall and Kris Austin are unchanged at 3% and 1%, respectively.

In terms of the projection, the Progressive Conservatives are up one to 30 seats, pushing the Liberals down to 24. The NDP remains at one seat.