Health care would be better managed by conservatives—at least in the eyes of Canadians, a new poll suggests. In an Ipsos Reid poll conducted for Global Television just last week, more Canadians said they trust the New Democratic Party and the Conservatives to manage health care more than Liberal leaders.

The poll of 6,262 likely voters found that Jack Layton and the NDP are the most trusted party to handle health care, with 46 percent support.

Thirty percent said they trust Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party to manage health care and 20 percent say they trust the Liberal Party.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and his party finishing last on this particular issue is a bit of a surprise, some experts say.

“It’s not a big surprise that the NDP, which is the socialist party here, does reasonably well on it because they are usually seen as the caring party,” says Darrell Bricker, CEO for Ipsos Public Affairs. “But you would figure the liberal party—one that portrays itself as middle of the road and was the government when all the new health care programs were brought in back in the ‘60s and the ‘70s— would be seen as potentially more credible on this, but they were in fact third on this and that was the surprise.”

However, Bricker notes, the Liberal Party’s status is “pretty desperate” so they are working to get their numbers moving before the upcoming election.

Even Liberal supporters say they are having a hard time trusting Ignatieff running the issue. Just 62 percent of current Liberal supporters trust Ignatieff and the Liberals on health care, while both NDP supporters (with 90 percent) and Conservative supporters (with 80 percent) say they trust their party the most to manage health care.

In 2004, the federal and provincial governments agreed on a health care accord that determined how much the federal government would contribute to the provincial health care systems. The agreement is set to expire in 2014. Ignatieff has been touring the country trying to convince Canadians that he’s the man that should be entering into those negotiations, but with just 22 percent saying he and the Liberal Party are the most trusted party in general, voters may disagree.

Another Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Canadian Medical Association released just last week revealed that health care is the issue voters most would like party leaders to address.

“Canadians are generally concerned about health care all the time. It’s kind of a default answer. It’s not like there is an immediate, specific pressure; it’s more about if anyone has a long-term plan for the future that is going to succeed,” Bricker says.

“Unlike in the United States where [health care] is a partisan issue, in Canada it’s really not,” he says. “None of the [parties] is really perceived as seen as having a plan.”

Instant Insights /

Liberals least trusted party in Canada, new report finds

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