Ontario NDP surging in polls

Ontario News Watch:

The Environics Research Group poll shows the New Democrats have surged to second place, while the Liberals have fallen behind to third.

The poll pegs the Tories at 37 percent support of decided voters, the NDP at 30 percent, and the Liberals at 27 percent. Six percent of Ontarians would support the Green Party.

The results may explain the more conciliatory tone taken by Premier Dalton McGuinty and Finance Minister Dwight Duncan since last weekend about talks with Andrea Horwath's NDP.

Negotiations with the New Democrats in advance of the April 24 budget vote are said to be picking up speed.

Environics says the results indicate a three way split.

"The Liberal decline is a product of a budget that hasn't been well received or well positioned, the ORNGE issue and to a lesser degree the weakness of the federal Liberal brand," said Darren Karasiuk, VP of Public Affairs for Environics Research Group.

"The NDP have made the most of the Liberal loss," he said Wednesday. "The Tories, not so much."

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The Toronto Star:

Forum’s interactive voice-response telephone poll of 1,084 people was conducted Tuesday.

It also reported that 60 per cent of Ontarians do not want another election with 34 per cent seeking a return to the polls and 7 per cent undecided.

But an election would apparently result in another minority government — it’s a tight three-way race with the Tories at 34 per cent, the NDP at 31 per cent, the Liberals at 28 per cent and the Greens at 5 per cent.

Hudak’s approval rating languishes at 24 per cent — behind McGuinty at 27 per cent — and well off of Horwath’s poll-leading 46 per cent.

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