OTTAWA – It was one year ago, Wednesday, that Canadians elected the Conservatives to their first majority government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

In a speech to his caucus, he warned fellow Tory Members of Parliament not to rest on their laurels, but to keep working on the party’s plans for prosperity.

He said the world economy is in the midst of a historic shift and the challenge for Canada is to stay on the right side of that shift.

Harper said the Tories are the only political party with a workable economic plan.

He said jobs and growth remain the priority, and added that more Canadians are working now than ever before.

Although Harper has achieved many of the goals he laid out for himself during the election, but his glory has been dampened by a lot of scandals.

John Geddes, a political writer for Maclean’s magazine, said whether it be ministers riding in helicopters, robocalls or the price tag for the F-35 fighter jets, the Harper administration has been plagued by controversies.  

The Tories have been able to handle the economy well, but they haven’t been able to grow at all in the polls, and that may be a big challenge as the New Democrats continue to increase support with a new leader at the helm.

A new poll suggests the Conservatives and NDP are in a statistical tie for voter support.

The Canadian Press-Harris Decima survey taken last week indicates the NDP has 33 per cent support while the Tories have 30 per cent.

However, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, support for the two parties could be equally split.

The poll of just over 1000 people suggests support for the Tories has dropped from election day when they received 39.6 per cent of the popular vote.