OTTAWA - A new poll suggests that a proposed Liberal-NDP coalition under Michael Ignatieff's leadership isn't much more palatable than an alliance under Stephane Dion.
The Canadian Press-Harris-Decima survey found that only 32 per cent of respondents favoured a coalition led by Dion, with 59 per cent opposed.
Asked if they would support a coalition led by Ignatieff, 38 per cent were supportive, with 50 per cent still opposed.
The poll found that almost 70 per cent of those surveyed felt Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives should stay in power, although 41 per cent blamed them for last week's political crisis and 39 per cent said Harper should resign.
However, 51 per cent said Harper should stay on.
The poll, conducted Dec. 4-6, questioned just over 1,000 people as part of an omnibus phone survey and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times in 20.
The poll also suggests that 46 per cent of Quebecers feel Harper should resign, but the margin of error is much higher for the provincial breakdown.
Jeff Walker, Harris-Decima vice-president, said the result suggests the coalition concept didn't grab voters.
"While many believe Mr. Harper is the chief architect of the problems that currently face Parliament, the coalition concept under Mr. Dion has failed to generate broad public support as an alternative government," he said.
"For the Conservatives, the most damage in the past week seems to have come from the province of Quebec, where a plurality believe Mr. Harper should resign as leader of the party and a majority blame the Conservatives more than anyone else for the parliamentary crisis."
