OTTAWA - A new poll suggests public opinion was shifting in favour of keeping the controversial long-gun registry, even before the RCMP issued its favourable evaluation last month.
The late August poll by The Canadian Press Harris-Decima indicates that 48 per cent of respondents thought it would be a bad idea to get rid of the registry, up from 42 per cent in April and 41 per cent last November.
About 38 per cent thought it should be scrapped, down from 45 per cent in April and 46 per cent last November.
The shift in support for the registry came mainly among women, Ontarians and those earning between $60,000 and $100,000 a year.
The omnibus telephone poll of 1,000 people was conducted Aug. 26 to Aug. 29 — just before the Mounties released their analysis of the Canadian Firearms Program and said the registry should be maintained because it saves lives.
The survey has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.