Premier Dalton McGuinty's handling of the Caledonia standoff could be causing trouble for his Liberals with local voters.
A new opinion poll yesterday indicates John Tory's Conservatives have a large margin of support with Hamilton and Niagara voters.
The Tories have the support of 44 per cent of voters, compared with 26 per cent for the Grits and 24 per cent for the New Democratic Party. The Liberals, however, still have the support of the majority of Ontario residents, the Leger Marketing poll indicates -- 39 per cent of voters compared with 35 per cent for the Tories and 20 per cent for the NDP. The Grits have 43 per cent support in the 905 belt, including Halton, the Conservatives 38 and NDP 12.
The poll was conducted July 18-23.
Pollster Craig Worden said the only issue he can think of that could be affecting Grit fortunes in Hamilton is the native occupation of a Caledonia housing development.
He said for the last six months there was basically a three-way tie in Hamilton-Niagara between the three parties.
"There was no one with a clear lead statistically speaking. Then, we saw over the last couple of polls, we started to see the Conservatives emerge and, in this poll, it emerged with a very strong lead in Hamilton-Niagara."
He said it remains to be seen whether the standoff has the staying power to remain a troubling issue for the government and into the 2007 election.