OTTAWA - Canadians are getting more conservative, according to a national poll commissioned by a right-leaning think tank.

When asked to agree or disagree with certain statements, 89% strongly agreed there's nothing more important than family, 67% strongly agreed marriage is by definition between a man and a woman and 60% strongly agreed abortion is morally wrong. The poll was commissioned by the Manning Centre, a think tank founded by former Reform Party leader Preston Manning, and conducted by Harris/Decima.

But only 31% said the government should regulate individual morality and behaviour.

Andre Turcotte, who conducted the poll, says Canadians have a conservative personal code of conduct but don't want government to intrude in private life. He says there's room for more right-wing policies in the country, but Conservatives should “stay away from the social Darwinism that turns off people.”

NDP spokesman Karl Belanger said he didn't expect any other results from a Manning Centre-commissioned survey.

“It's like a poll from Burger King stating that Canadians are moving to the Whopper,” he said in an email.

The survey harkens back to the 2008 election campaign, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters he thought Canada was becoming moving toward the right, accepting trade and balanced budgets as norms.

The phone poll surveyed 1,000 adult Canadians between Feb. 1 to 10, 2010. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.3%.