Never mind the economy. Canadians want the Harper government to focus on health care, according to a new poll.
Conducted for the Canadian Medical Association, the Ipsos Reid survey shows 68 per cent of respondents "reject the idea that the federal government's focus on the economy justifies delaying discussions to renew the health accord with the provinces."
That accord ends in 2014 yet Ottawa and the provinces appear to be making little headway on negotiations.
"Everyone is agreeing we should start this dialogue and that the negotiations should be starting right now," the CMA's president, Dr. Jeff Turnbull, said of the Ipsos Reid findings.
The poll lands just days after Brian Mulroney issued a challenge to Stephen Harper to think big. The former prime minister suggested the Conservative government create a blue-ribbon panel to look into health-care funding, which he predicts will overwhelm provincial budgets in the next 15 or 20 years.
On top of that, political rhetoric has been ramping up between the Tories and the opposition, fueling speculation an election is not far away. Could health emerge as a big campaign issue? Ipsos Reid's Alexandra Evershed says yes.
"The economy has been such an all consuming issue for the last couple of years, and still is," she told The Globe. "However as the survey shows, Canadians are largely unaware that the 2014 deadline is looming, but definitely want to be heard on the issue, so who knows."
Eighty per cent of poll respondents were unaware of the 2014 deadline but once they became aware of it, 88 per cent said negotiations between Ottawa and the provinces should begin now.
The poll finds, too, that Canadians have little faith in the commitment of political parties to improve the health-care system. Twenty-four per cent believe the NDP is the most committed compared to 16 per cent for the Liberals and 14 per cent for the Conservatives. Meanwhile, 30 per cent of the respondents said they do not believe that any party is committed to improving the system.
In terms of improvements to the system, poll respondents believe the debate should not be restricted by money, funding arrangements or predetermined budgets. Rather, "patient needs should guide what health-care services are available."
Ipsos Reid contacted 1,000 Canadians between Jan. 13 and 20. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
It was released as the CMA begins the first of a series of cross-Canada town hall meetings on the issue. Wednesday's inaugural meeting in Halifax is being televised by CPAC, and the advocacy group has launched a website to encourage discussion.