Canadians think Michael Ignatieff is wrong to try to force an election this fall and the Liberal leader's popularity has nosedived as a result, a new poll suggests.
The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey also suggests Liberal fortunes have dipped, with the Conservatives taking a slight lead nationally - 34 per cent to 31.
The NDP was at 15 per cent, the Greens at 10, and the Bloc Quebecois at eight.
The Liberals briefly enjoyed a small lead last spring, which abruptly vanished when Ignatieff flirted with the idea of forcing a summer election. They then rebounded somewhat, spending most of the summer stuck in a statistical tie with the Tories.
But renewed election-mongering from Ignatieff last week appears to have cost the party - and its leader - once again.
According to the survey, 50 per cent of respondents thought Ignatieff was wrong to declare his party will no longer prop up Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government. Only 38 per cent thought he was right.
An overwhelming 73 per cent said an election is not needed this fall; only 21 per cent thought it necessary.
That may help explain why voters have veered from a net positive opinion of Ignatieff to a net negative impression.
Forty-one per cent of respondents said they have a negative impression of Ignatieff - a jump of 15 points since March. Thirty-nine per cent had a favourable impression, down six points.
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