Responding to reports that suggest more Quebecers are inclined to vote for his NDP than the Bloc Quebecois on election day, Jack Layton says the numbers point to a growing realization nationwide: that Canadians have more than two credible choices at the ballot box.
Answering reporters' questions during a campaign stop in Toronto on Thursday, Layton said his consistent campaign message is striking a chord with voters tired of the Liberals and Conservatives trading the reins of power.
"We have stuck to our proposition that the same-old, same-old parties in Ottawa aren't going to solve the problems that are facing people. We've seen it for years and they always tell us we have only two choices: We have to go back and forth.
"I don't accept that proposition, our party doesn't, and I think a lot of Canadians don't like to be told what to do," he said, concluding that voters now have "a real choice."
Layton's comments come hot on the heels of the results of several polls that show support for his party and his leadership reaching unprecedented levels -- particularly in Quebec.
Polls conducted by CROP for La Presse newspaper and EKOS for online news site iPolitics show support for the NDP surging ahead of support for Gilles Duceppe's Bloc Quebecois in Quebec.
Plus, a new Ipsos Reid poll released Thursday afternoon suggested that the NDP were in second place nationally, with 24 per cent support. The Liberals were in third with 21 per cent, and the Conservatives were in first-placed with 43 per cent.
Meanwhile, the latest Nanos Research poll for CTV and the Globe and Mail suggests that Layton leads Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff in the key leadership index.
"The campaign focus on healthcare has likely helped the New Democrats," said pollster Nik Nanos in a news release.
"It could also very well be that the Liberal ads attacking the Conservatives on healthcare could be benefitting the New Democrats because of the credibility of the NDP on this issue. Likewise, Duceppe's call to stop a Harper majority likely helped increase support for Layton and not Duceppe."
The leadership indicator index, which combines trust, competence and vision into an aggregate score, rates the leaders as follows:
- Stephen Harper 90
- Jack Layton 66.6
- Michael Ignatieff 36.7
- Gilles Duceppe 15.3
While some polls point to a major NDP rise in Quebec, the Nanos poll still has the NDP trailing the BQ in Quebec. However, Layton's party is ahead of both the Liberals and the Conservatives.
‘A strong desire for change' says NDP
Thomas Mulcair, the only incumbent NDP candidate in Quebec, said that the numbers confirm what he's been hearing on the campaign trail this month.
"What's happened is there's been a strong desire for change in Quebec," he told CTV's Power Play Thursday afternoon.
Mulcair said that support for the party is strong right across the province, because Quebecers realize that the status quo isn't working in their interests.
Plus, leader Layton has been able to "connect" with Quebecers, since he is originally from the province and understands the province's values.
At the same time, Duceppe hasn't been able to capitalize on any key issue in this campaign, said Mulcair.
"As he's groped around for that issue, he's just become angrier and angrier and hotter and hotter," he said.
In the last election, Duceppe has managed to rage against cuts to the arts in Quebec, which became a major sticking point with voters in the province.
Layton, for one, is seizing onto his surge in support, and plans to ride it through to election day.
"I have felt that our message has been resonating and that we've got some momentum, but we've got a lot of work to do," he said. "We're going to be going from one end of the country to the other saying to Canadians you have a choice here: You can really change Ottawa this time, and it's a golden opportunity to fix what's wrong there."
Vowing Thursday morning to keep fighting for votes right up to voting day, Duceppe told reporters at a press conference in Quebec City that the NDP has worked against the interests of Quebecers in the past.
For his part, Ignatieff will have a chance to turn his party's fortunes in Quebec later this week, when he appears on the province's most popular TV talk show, Tout Le Monde en Parle.
