NDP Leader Jack Layton's Leadership Index Score shot up nearly 20 points in one day, according to a new Nanos Research poll. It's a jump largely attributed to his growing popularity in Quebec.
According to the survey, conducted for CTV and The Globe and Mail, Layton's leadership score surged to 76.8 Tuesday night, up from a score of 59.5 the night before.
That brings Layton considerably closer to the Index's front-runner, Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper's leadership score plummeted from 110.6 on Monday evening to 92.8 on Tuesday evening.
The Nanos Leadership Index Score is based on poll respondents' opinions of each party leader on three issues: trust, competence and vision for Canada.
Layton's trust score went from 23.8 on Monday to 29.7 on Tuesday, while his competence score increased from 12.8 to 19.4. Layton's vision for Canada score was up to 27.7 from 22.9.
While Layton's leadership score is on an upward trajectory, Harper's score has tumbled considerably after a spike to 122.8 after the English-language leaders' debate. The latest numbers show Harper's trust score has dropped from 31.4 to 25.5, his competence score has fallen from 43.1 to 37.9 and on vision for Canada he now has a score of 29.4, down from 36.1.
Nanos Research president Nik Nanos said Wednesday Layton's leadership score bump reflects his party's surge in popularity in Quebec. Current Nanos polling data has the NDP at 25.4 per cent support in Quebec, compared to the 12.2 per cent support the party received in the 2008 election.
"The thing is, it's very good news for Jack Layton, but it's primarily driven out of the province of Quebec. So right movement, wrong province," Nanos told CTV's Power Play on Wednesday. "If that was in Ontario it would be earth-shattering. But still, for Jack Layton, he's got to take those numbers and be very pleased with how Quebecers are embracing the Layton brand."
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff's score was down to 41.5 on Tuesday, compared to a Monday score of 49.1. Elizabeth May saw a bump in her score from 7.5 to 13.5, while Gilles Duceppe's rating dropped to 10.8 from 15.5.
