Here’s a nice big stinkbomb for Stephen Harper from the voters who recently gave him a minority government:

Majority opposed to Afghan mission

A robust majority of Canadians say they would opt against sending troops to Afghanistan and would like to see parliamentarians have the opportunity to vote on the issue.

…The poll found that 62 per cent of Canadians are against sending troops to Afghanistan, while only 27 per cent are in favour. Furthermore, 73 per cent of those surveyed said parliamentarians should have the chance to vote on deployment.

Canada being an advanced capitalist nation, like the US it also has its claque of propagandists to tell the people what their opinions mean:

“I’m very, very surprised at the degree of opposition to something that is not well known by the population,” said Allan Gregg, chairman of the Strategic Counsel, which conducted the poll.

“I think you’ve got a knee-jerk against doing anything with the Americans, especially on the military front, but also part of this distinctiveness and difference with the United States is our unwarlike nature.”

Ah, yes, the People Are Stupid and Uninformed and Knee-Jerk Pacifist, because they differ from their betters on sending other people’s kids to kill and die. (Even in Alberta—the most dependably pro-US province—a majority opposes supporting the Aghan mission.) That’s intersting, because four years ago the same stupid Canadians favored combat roles for their troops—not just peacekeeping one—by almost exactly the same margin.

Hmmm, I wonder what might have caused this dramatic change in opinion? Here’s a clue:

But Canadians are still skeptical about taking part in international conflicts that aren’t seen as peacekeeping ventures or that are part of a U.S.-led effort.

Let me amend that last phrase a bit: “…because everything that George Bush touches turns to shit.” Much better.

And now Bush’s Canuck golden boy gets to choose between kicking sand in his biggest trading partner’s face and torpedoing his own fragile government. Pass the popcorn.