This week’s web-survey of Canadian CEO’s and business leaders is the first study to gauge reaction by the business community to Martin’s recent budget deal with the NDP. Respondents strongly disagree with the removal of tax cuts from the budget and are concerned that their elimination will hurt Canada’s economy. Business leaders also disagree with most of the spending initiatives announced in the Liberal-NDP deal, which include new spending for the environment, pension protection fund, affordable housing and foreign aid.
While Canada’s business leaders have tended to be somewhat more conservative than the general population , the recent changes to the budget appear to have hurt Martin’s popularity among this important voting constituency in three respects:

• Profound concern for the effects of the tax cut removal on business - 71% of business leaders say removing the corporate tax cuts hurts Canada’s economy;
  
• Martin is losing his image as a Bay Street politician - 75% say Prime Minister Martin was never a "Bay Street politician with heart" (40%) or became less so than he had been as Finance Minister (35%) while only 16% say that he still represents Bay Street today; and
  
• There is some indication that the removal of tax cuts may cost votes for Martin among business leaders- 34% of respondents say they would vote for Martin if an election were held today as compared with 43% who say they would have voted for Martin before the tax cuts were removed (N.B. margin of error on this study is 8.0%).
  

These are the key findings from this week’s online panel of Canadian CEO’s and business leaders for publication in the Financial Post under the sponsorship of BDO Dunwoody and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce

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