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Most respondents in key election battlegrounds support Green Party Leader Elizabeth May's inclusion in a televised leaders' debate for the upcoming federal election, according to a new poll conducted for CTV and The Globe and Mail.

The results of the Strategic Counsel poll were released early Thursday morning, one day after Canada's broadcast networks agreed to include May in the debates after the Conservatives and New Democrats backed down from their initial opposition.

The poll sampled residents in 45 vital ridings in Quebec, Ontario and B.C.

When asked whether "Green Party Leader Elizabeth May should have been included in the upcoming leaders' debate," 74 per cent of B.C. respondents agreed. Among women, 78 per cent agreed while 71 per cent of men agreed.

Only 12 per cent of women disagreed that May should be included and 22 per cent of men disagreed.

In Ontario:

• In total, seventy-three per cent of respondents agreed.
• Eighty per cent of women agreed.
• Sixty-nine per cent of men agreed.

In Quebec:

• In total, sixty-seven per cent of respondents agreed.
• Seventy-three per cent of women agreed.
• Sixty-one per cent of men agreed.

In the battleground ridings in all three of the provinces, results were consistently in agreement when respondents were asked to agree or disagree with the statement: "It is wrong that the only woman leader of a national party has been excluded from the debate."

In Ontario, a total of 57 per cent of respondents said they agreed it was wrong to exclude May.

Among women, 62 per cent agreed with the statement, while 52 per cent of men agreed.

In B.C.:

• In total, 53 per cent of respondents agreed.
• Sixty-two per cent of women agreed.
• Forty-three per cent of men agreed.

In Quebec:

• In total, 56 per cent of respondents agreed.
• Sixty per cent of women agreed.
• Fifty-two per cent of men agreed.

In all three provinces, about 25 per cent of women strongly disagreed that it was wrong to exclude May from the debates.

Among men, 46 per cent in B.C. strongly disagreed, 31 per cent in Ontario strongly disagreed and 35 per cent in Quebec strongly disagreed.

May 'jubilant'

May told CTV's Canada AM she was "jubilant" to receive the news she would be allowed to participate, calling the decision a victory for democracy.

"I think this is really a victory for citizen outrage and the effectiveness of Canadians getting on websites, calling, writing letters to the editors. It was an astonishing and completely spontaneous movement of outrage and I'm so grateful," May said Thursday.

She welcomed the poll results that showed as many as 80 per cent of women in Ontario felt she should be included. However, she acknowledged that although those respondents wanted her included in the debate, it doesn't mean they plan to vote for her.

"But I really hope that now that I've got a chance to explain where the Green Party stands on a wide range of issues people will be more inclined to actually give us their support at the ballot box," she said.

May vowed to raise issues such as Kyoto, Afghanistan and foreign policy, saying previous debates in 2006 ignored the important issues and as a result were "dreary and horrible" to watch.

"I'm hoping what I'll do by participating is do a service to the 80 per cent or whatever of Canadians who thought I should be there. No matter how they're going to vote I really want to improve the quality of the debates and focus more on issues and less on personalities."

Change of mind

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and NDP Leader Jack Layton both reversed their opposition to the inclusion of May on Wednesday.

Layton was the first to back away from his previous position, saying he didn't want to keep "debating about the debate."

"As long as Stephen Harper takes part, I don't care who else is on the stage," he said Wednesday afternoon on his campaign bus.

Less than an hour later, Conservative representatives informed reporters that the Tories would not stand alone against May's inclusion.

At a campaign stop in Quebec on Thursday, Harper denied that his party has flip-flopped on the issue.

He said that May's inclusion at the debate remains "unfair" because she and Liberal Leader Stephane Dion have a deal not to run a candidate against the other in their home ridings.

"This is unfair in our judgment, but we will go along provided other elements of the debate are fair," he said.

The five networks in the consortium -- CTV, CBC, Radio-Canada, Global and TVA -- said May was excluded because some leaders threatened to boycott the debate if she was allowed to participate.

Battleground 2008 ridings

Following is a list of the Battleground 2008 Ridings included in Strategic Counsel polling throughout the election campaign:

British Columbia

Vancouver Quadra, Vancouver Island North, West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, Fleetwood-Port Kells, Newton-North Delta, Burnaby-Douglas, Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, Richmond, Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge-Mission, North Vancouver.

Ontario

Parry Sound-Muskoka, Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, St. Catharines, Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, Brant, Thunder Bay-Superior North, Oakville, Thunder Bay-Rainy River, Huron-Bruce, London-Fanshaw, Ottawa-Orl�ans, Simcoe North, London West, Barrie, Kitchener-Conestoga, Halton, Peterborough, Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, Burlington, Mississauga South.

Quebec

Louis-H�bert, Ahuntsic, Beauport-Limoilou, Brossard-La Prairie, Papineau, Charlesbourg--Haut-Saint-Charles, Hull-Aylmer, Honor�-Mercier, Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot, Pontiac, Jeanne-Le Ber, Laval-Les �les, Gatineau, Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, Brome-Missisquoi.

Technical notes:

• The poll was conducted from Sept. 9-10 by The Strategic Counsel for CTV and The Globe and Mail.
• The B.C. ridings had a sample size of 260 (margin of error 6.1 per cent). The Ontario ridings had a sample size of 280 (margin of error 5.9 per cent) and Quebec battleground ridings had a sample size of 270 (margin of error 6 per cent).
• Results are based on random samples of adults 18 years of age or older in each of the 45 battleground ridings. Results were weighted by age to be proportionate to the provincial population sampled.