Harper Closing in On Majority, Poll Suggests

Michael Ignatieff better get Jack Layton on the phone.

A new poll predicts that Stephen Harper’s Conservatives could win a majority in the next election, despite having only 38 per cent of the popular vote and without making any significant gains in Québec. A majority has long eluded the Harper Tories, but it looks like they may have finally figured out a working strategy to get a stranglehold on power. By choosing a few issues that they know will appeal to key clusters of ridings, they’ve managed to gain support in crucial areas. In suburban Toronto they successfully touted their tough-on-crime approach by running ex-OPP chief Julian Fantino in last week’s by-election, and meanwhile in rural Liberal and NDP ridings they’ve used the long-gun registry as a wedge issue.