Did you watch Prime Minister Paul Martin’s national address on prime-time television last Thursday night? No? Don’t feel bad, you’re probably in the majority. Martin thought that going on national television would be a good way to try and save himself and the Liberals some face in the wake of adscam (the last time a Prime Minister went on national television was in 1995, when Quebec was about to secede). While it’s probably too soon to tell if his address had any real impact, the Conservatives are clearly ahead in the opinion polls, with 35% to the Liberal’s 30%.
Which begs the question, are we going back to the polls? Clearly with the Conservatives enjoying a comfortable advantage, it’s not unreasonable they would rather have an election now than later. On the other hand, Canada is a very Liberal country:
The Liberal Party is often described as Canada’s natural party of government, having been in power for the past 12 years, and for 55 of the past 70.
Mr Martin has one aspect of public opinion in his favour: voters agree with him that the full Gomery report should come out before an election is called.
I think it comes to down to whether or not we want Quebec to separate. A strong election for the Conservatives would probably also mean a strong election for the Bloc Québécois, and perhaps, the start of new separation talk. I think that is probably something most Canadians would want to avoid. If history is any indication, it seems likely that the Liberals will be given another chance, if not by winning the next election, by clearly winning the following election.
Maybe the question isn’t “are we going back to the polls”, but rather, will adscam do anything? If this scandal doesn’t make Canadians vote non-Liberal, what will?
Read: Economist.com
MasterMaq's Blog 
If you ask me going to the polls is a waste of time and tax-payer money. How many people do you really think are going to switch their political views? If they didn’t vote for the Conservatives in the last election I highly doubt they will vote Conservative now. And at best, the Conservatives win a minority government and get voted out in a couple years anyways. Why waste the time and why waste the money?
let’s spend the money on legalizing weed, or give the money to me
I think that an election now would serve to reaffirm the Liberal Party’s place at the helm of our country. I do think that Paul Martin made the smartst political move he could have made by promising an election within 30 days of the end of the Gomery Inquiry. If it takes another 2 years, then we won’t have an election for 2 years. By not setting a specific date, he saved himself from having to answer to the public.
I think that until there is a viable alternative, we will have a Liberal government, whether it be a majority or a minority.