Poll: Liberals, Bloc Quebecois slip

MONTREAL, March 30 (UPI) -- A poll in Quebec is bad news for both the nationalist Bloc Quebecois and the Liberal Party.

The Conservative Party, now the governing group in Canada, has gained at the expense of the other two, CTV reported.

Support for the Bloc has dropped to 30 percent, the CROP poll found, while the Conservatives are now at 29 percent. Liberals are down to 20 percent, and the New Democratic Party is at 15 percent.

Among Francophones, about 85 percent of the population of Quebec, support for the Bloc is at 35 percent, for the Conservatives at 30 percent and for the NDP and Liberals 15 percent each.

The Liberal slippage is especially dramatic since the party leader, Stephane Dion, is from Quebec City and represents a Montreal-area district in Parliament.

"Quebec City is Mr. Dion's home town. He's in fourth place in his home town," said L. Ian McDonald, a political commentator, in an interview with CTV. "A leader without a base is like a prophet without a homeland."