Quebec: Layton the Best PM

The Globe and Mail reports on some new polling from Innovative Research Group. And while there's plenty of interesting information in the article (and surely plenty more in the underlying data), there's one finding in particular which could significantly shape the rest of the campaign:

Mr. Layton, who has loudly supported arts funding after a series of cuts made by Mr. Harper, has seen his own popularity and that of his party surge in Quebec – a province where the arts are valued heavily, and one where the NDP held just one seat when the election was called.

Quebeckers declared Mr. Layton the runaway winner of the English debate, and now think he would make the best Prime Minister of all the leaders, the poll shows.

Remember that it was just last week that Layton had first pushed ahead to a clear second place behind Harper in a CROP poll. From the looks of IRG's numbers, he didn't stay there for long - instead taking full advantage of the debates to emerge as the preferred choice for prime minister among Quebec respondents. And that should offer a golden opportunity for Layton to parlay his high standing among Quebec voters into an NDP breakthrough.