Harper edges out Ignatieff, Layton in debate according to Yahoo! Canada live chat readers

The highly anticipated debate between leaders of the three main federal parties, plus the Bloc, didn't disappoint as they jabbed and sparred on issues such as ethics, crime, immigration and leadership.

Thousands of Yahoo! Canada News readers joined the debate online with a live chat during the two-hour televised event Tuesday night and offered their opinions through comments and responses to a number of polls.

Political analysts noted there was no knockout punch, and that rarely happens anyway, but there were a number of good zingers on the plate from all the leaders, including a classic water-cooler line from NDP Leader Jack Layton when he told Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff if he wants a promotion, he should show up for work.

Of course, he was referring to the fact Ignatieff has the lowest attendance for votes among the party leaders.

Midway through the live chat, we asked participants who they thought was the strongest performer so far. The results: Stephen Harper at 54 per cent and Ignatieff at 34 per cent. Layton was stuck at 11 per cent and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe barely ranked at one per cent.

'Rich' then commented, "Harper says all the right stuff, but does he deliver?" and then 'wetcoaster' weighed in suggesting, "Iggy is doing a better job than Dion did last time . . . I'll just leave it at that."

A 'Guest' logged on the chat and opined, "Layton speaks with clarity, which is easy to understand, Duceppe has some good points, but his accent and speed at which he talks drowns out his points, Harper is as expected isnt (sic) clear on answering any questions, its (sic) just platform speak."

When Yahoo! Canada News asked, "What issue matters most to you this campaign?" it's no surprise 'jobs and economy' was number one at 44 per cent, followed by health care at 23 per cent.

Interestingly, the military was a higher priority than the environment and education at 19 per cent, while the latter two were at three per cent respectively. Taxes sat at eight per cent.

That prompted 'Patti' to say, "I would love to hear them bring up health care and offer a vision for our future there."

And, another 'Guest' to lament, "if Harper gets a majority, I will be completely disillusioned with the Canadian public" and 'Boomer' adds, "Interesting that over 50% of the people here say that the Economy is the primary issue of this election - yet all leaders (except Harper) are not making it thier (sic) primary issue . . ."

Asked what kind of government Canada will end up with after the election, 54 per cent said a Tory majority and 17 per cent predicted a Liberal minority. Only six per cent thought it would be a Liberal majority, 17 per cent a Liberal minority and eight per cent voted for "Who knows?"

Then 'Brandy' piped in, "NO WAY, None of these guys deserves a majority!" and 'Claude' adds, "Canada will benefit from a Tory majority, with Jack being the official opposition - much better than Iggy."

'Boomer' chimes in again, "It's a decent format, they were definitely trying to spark some fireworks between the parties with a full 6 mins of 1 on 1 time - but the leaders seem unwilling to swing for the fences."

Finally, the question was asked in the live chat poll, "Who do you think is the winner of tonight's debate?"

Harper placed first by a wide margin at 60 per cent, with Ignatieff trailing at 24 per cent, with Layton in third at 14 per cent, and Duceppe at two, prompting 'cane' to write, "NDP - Mr. Layton has won my vote."

And, then 'lorri' asked, "Why is Dudeppe (sic) even there? He doesn't recognize anything but Quebec?"

'Frank' commented, "As an undecided voter, I was impressed with Harper. He won the debate tonight, for me" and 'Allen' added, "Mr. Layton got my vote" but then another 'Guest' emphatically stated, "I will vote anyone but the conservatives."

So ends the English-language debate for this election. Tonight is the French debate, and likely more of the same from party leaders as the election continues toward the May 2 vote.

(Reuters Photo)