 Prime Minister Stephen Harper points at photographers after participating in a roundtable meeting, in Fort McMurray, Alberta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Ulan
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OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper is soaring as Canadians' top pick to lead the country, while Liberal Leader Stephane Dion has plunged to third spot behind the NDP's Jack Layton, a new poll has found.
The startling SES-Sun Media survey shows Harper has steamrolled ahead as the choice of 37% of Canadians for "best PM," while Dion crashed to third place as the pick of just 13% of Canadians. Layton garnered 17% of support across the country.
SES pollster Nik Nanos said the results are big news for Harper, who has cracked open a 20-point lead from his nearest rival in the leadership popularity contest. The numbers deliver the worst news for Dion, who dropped 10 points in the past 90 days.
Nanos points to a number of factors at play, including a recent wave of Tory attack ads challenging Dion's leadership abilities and the decision by Liberals to abstain from key votes in the House of Commons.
'NOT VERY DECISIVE'
"We're coming off a budget where the Prime Minister looked very decisive, and Stephane Dion did not look very decisive because of what I will say is a complicated response -- especially to the throne speech," Nanos said. "A lot of voters are looking at what Stephane Dion's strategy is, and the whole abstention of voting just does not seem decisive at all."
The poll was conducted before Harper's Friday announcement that an independent adviser will review dealings between former Conservative PM Brian Mulroney and German businessman Karlheinz Schreiber.
Harper left Dion in the dust on the leadership front in both vote-rich provinces of Ontario and Quebec, set to become key battlegrounds in the next federal election. In Quebec, a whopping 41% said they think Harper would make the best prime minister, up from 24% three months ago. Dion slid to a thin 11% from 15% in the same period.
The Liberal chief also took a beating in Ontario, where his support was more than halved to 15% from 33% 90 days ago. Harper is flying high in that province, climbing 11 points to 35% support since the last survey.
The poll also reveals growing confusion and discontent among Canadians on who's best suited to lead the country. A whopping 25%, up from 19% three months earlier, picked "none/unsure" instead of a name. Nanos said that rising number reflects a tide of disaffection for Dion.
The SES-Sun Media national poll surveyed 1,004 Canadians between Nov. 6 and 8. Results are considered accurate plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
