The Dion Bounce

From The Globe:

MONTREAL — There are early signs that Stéphane Dion and his party emerged from their weekend convention ahead of the governing Conservatives, for the first time since the Liberals' election defeat in January.

[...]

It shows that if an election were held today, the Liberals led by Mr. Dion would garner 37 per cent of the vote, compared with 31 per cent for the Conservatives. The NDP polled 14 per cent, the Bloc Québécois 11 per cent, and the Green Party, 7.

Moreover, the decision to select a a Francophone, even a hardcore Federalist one, has played well in...surprise, surprise...Quebec:

In Quebec, 62 per cent of respondents in the province said Mr. Dion was a good choice for the Liberals, with only 29 per cent saying he was a bad choice. The approval of the Liberals' pick was higher in Quebec than in the rest of the country, where 55 per cent like the choice.

Yes of course the Libs were going to get a bounce if they had selected a headless chicken for leader, and yes of course Dion has a chance to spoil the nation's positive first impressions. However, I would take a good-news meaningless poll over a bad news meaningless poll any day.

And, meanwhile, the Stephen Harper Tories continue their relentless drive to the opposition benches by pursuing issues that divide them from the majority of the Canadian people. From the same Strategic Counsel poll:

The poll shows that 58 per cent of Canadians are against repealing the law that legalized gay marriage, while 36 per cent are for. And 57 per cent do not even want Parliament to vote on whether it should be reopened. The poll surveyed 1,000 Canadians yesterday, and is accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times in 20. The polling in Quebec used a sample of 247 and is considered accurate within 6.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.