Federal NDP Continue To Edge Towards A Majority Government

The latest Forum Research poll (Forum Research results, National Post story) shows the NDP in the lead nationally, in Quebec, Atlantic and BC, and almost tied with the Conservatives in Ontario and the Prairies. 

The only province that the Conservatives hold a strong lead in is Alberta.

Poll standings:
Canada
NDP 36%
Con 32%
Lib 20%
Green 6%
Bloc 5%

Ontario
NDP 34%
Con 35%
Lib 25%
Green 5%

Quebec
NDP 40%
Con 18%
Lib 14%
Green 5%
Bloc 21%

BC
NDP 40%
Con 31%
Lib 18%
Green 10%

Alberta
NDP 16%
Con 61%
Lib 15%
Green 6%

Prairies
NDP 37%
Con 38%
Lib 17%
Green 7%

Atlantic
NDP 51%
Con 22%
Lib 24%
Green 3%

This poll had a sample size of 1836, which has a margin of error of 2.29%, 19 times out of 20.

Other poll findings:
Favourable support of party leaders:
Tom Mulcair 41%
Stephen Harper 33%
Bob Rae 33%

Net Approval (approve minus disapprove)
Tom Mulcair +10%
Stephen Harper -26%
Bob Rae -5%

Forum Research: "One third approve of the job Stephen Harper is doing as Prime Minister (33%), stable from last month (34%), while one third also approve of the job Bob Rae is
doing (33%) and this is down slightly since last month (35%). NDP leader Tom
Mulcair's favourables are at 41% and this hasn't changed. In terms of 'net
approval' (approve minus disapprove), Mulcair is at +10, while Harper and Rae
languish in the negative numbers (-26 and -5, respectively). Harper's low net
approval rating is due to high levels of disapproval not applied to the other two
leaders."

Canada suffers from income gap
77% agree that the rich are getting too rich and the poor are getting too poor 

Lower dollar preferred
Forum Research: "Close to one half of those polled said a low dollar supporting manufacturing was better for Canada than a high dollar bolstered by resource exports (45%), while about one third disagreed (35%)."

Majority want to deny Conrad Black Canadian citizenship
Forum Research: "More than six-in-ten say they disagree convicted media tycoon Conrad Black should be given back the Canadian citizenship he renounced (61%). Just one fifth
(21%) think he deserves this second chance.
Supporters of either the federal Conservatives or Liberals (28%, 26%; compared
to 18% Green, 15% NDP, and 7% BQ), and Canadians residing outside of Quebec
(28% Alberta, 24% British Columbia, 24% Ontario, 24% Atlantic, 22% Prairies, and
9% Quebec) were more likely to agree that Black should be given back his
Canadian citizenship.
"Canadians are proud of their country, and value its citizenship. It is clear they do
not think Conrad Black deserves the benefits of being a Canadian anymore," said
Forum Research President, Dr. Lorne Bozinoff."

Canadian Dollar and Prices

The media is making much of how the Canadian consumer is not getting the savings of the higher value of our dollar passed on to them. There are a number of factors in play here.

It takes time for the savings to get passed on since in some areas, prices are only set once a year (or every few months). Also, goods bought by suppliers months ago, cost the importer the old price - more than it would cost the supplier today. So, they still need to sell at a price related to the old cost, the old dollar value. Some products, which were produced with the 2 different prices printed on them, will still have the prices relative to when the product was produced - different than today's value. So, these products will normally still be sold at these prices. Eventually, new production of these products will reflect the new prices - but it will take some time. There is always some lag of pricing catching up to current value. It has always been like this. There is more lag when the dollar jumps quickly.

If you are buying products that move quickly (like fresh produce, computers, cars...) you are already, or will be very soon, seeing price reductions.

Books are products that may have been bought by suppliers months ago, but some stores are now selling books at par with the American price marked (instead of the marked Canadian price)

So, don't believe all the bad news the media is giving you. Prices have either come down for consumers, or will within the next few months.

The Bush Dollar

Duncan Cameron at Rabble writes an interesting piece on the US Dollar.

Correction:

Duncan said that the Canadian dollar has dropped. However, Between March 2003, when the US invaded Iraq, and June 2007, the Canadian dollar has risen 5 cents against the Euro. During this time, the Canadian dollar has also risen about 30 cents against the US dollar, and the US dollar has dropped about 20 cents against the Euro.