OTTAWA - A new poll suggests the Tories' federal leadership advantage has evaporated since Michael Ignatieff took over the Liberal helm.
The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey indicates the newly minted Liberal leader is viewed more favourably than either Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper or NDP Leader Jack Layton.
Indeed, Ignatieff was the only national leader to score a net positive rating, with 43 per cent of respondents saying they had a favourable impression of him versus 32 per cent who had an unfavourable opinion.
Harper was viewed favourably by 43 per cent and unfavourably by 49 per cent, relatively unchanged since last October's election.
Layton was seen positively by 37 per cent and negatively by 49 per cent of respondents, almost a complete reversal since the election campaign when the NDP leader was the most favourably viewed national leader.
The poll also suggests Conservatives and Liberals are statistically tied, with 31 per cent and 33 per cent support respectively, well ahead of the NDP at 15 per cent, the Greens at 10 per cent and the Bloc Quebecois at 10 per cent.
The telephone survey of just over 1,000 Canadians was conducted Feb. 5-8 and is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points 19 times in 20.
