Are the Scheer Cons Now More Popular Than The Liberals?

When I checked to see what Andrew Scheer was doing this weekend, I saw that he was at the Winter Carnival in Quebec City.

No doubt trying to hold on to the small and shrinking number of seats the Cons have in that province.

Which won't be easy, because most Quebecers strongly support Justin Trudeau, and they need a right-wing, religious fanatic, and climate change denier like Scheer, like they need a hole in the head.

But then I saw something shocking.

A new poll that suggests that Scheer's Cons are suddenly more popular than Trudeau's Liberals.



And are heading for another majority government.

The federal Conservatives are gaining voter momentum being led by Andrew Scheer, according to a new poll by Forum Research. In a random sampling among 1,408 Canadian voters, Conservative support has risen significantly and now four in 10 – or 43% — say they would support Scheer’s party if an election were held today, up four points since December. 

On the flipside, about 38% would support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, the poll suggests.

And of course at first I was stunned. And then furious.

Could it be true that only two years after freeing themselves from the clutches of the ghastly Harper regime, so many Canadians are aching for more punishment?



What kind of sheep are they? And what kind of country is this Canada?

But then I took another look at this Forum poll and something didn't seem right. 



It seemed just too different from the CBC poll tracker chart that I ran the other day.



And sure enough there was the guy who produced that chart offering a word of caution:





And of course, the Forum poll was taken before the Dykstra scandal exploded.



Which is a problem for Scheer, because that scandal just keeps getting more sordid. 

Top Conservatives, including former prime minister Stephen Harper, kept silent about sexual-misconduct allegations involving Rick Dykstra even as the former Tory MP rose in the ranks of Ontario politics – a decision that is now revealing deep fractures in the federal party.

And with the evidence now pointing straight at Stephen Harper.

Three sources have told The Globe and Mail that a conference call between top aides and Mr. Harper was held to discuss Mr. Dykstra's candidacy in the 2015 election, and it was the former prime minister himself who decided Mr. Dykstra should stay on.

Scheer is going have to hope that the evidence doesn't also show that he knew but also said or did nothing.

As well as show, as Michael Harris points out, whether he has the guts to be more than just a Harper puppet.

It is the moment of truth for Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer. Depending on how he conducts the third-party investigation into the Rick Dykstra affair, he will either remain a wooden puppet or turn into a real boy. If he opts for puppet-hood, everyone knows who will be holding the strings.

Like Rona Ambrose, the leader he succeeded was...



And quite frankly I don't think Scheer does have the guts to take on his former master, the man he served so faithfully.

So Harper will take him down with him, as I predicted the other day...



And while the Forum poll should be a reminder that we are still in a life and death struggle with the Harper Party, and that we need to attack them harder than ever.

And that the toxic Trudeau haters in our own ranks need to be told to stuff a sock in it, and save their venom for the real enemy. 

I'm pretty sure that other polls will soon show that Scheer is smaller (and furrier) than  Forum is portraying him.



And that he's still a hopeless loser.

And is still going nowhere...