Though Opposition leader Stephen Harper has set Nov. 28 as the day the axe will fall on the Liberal government, a new poll has revealed that voters do not want a winter election.

The Conservative leader said his party will introduce a non-confidence motion on Nov. 24, setting in motion a critical Commons vote likely on Nov. 28 and a potential holiday campaign for a mid-January election.

"We're prepared. I've said all along we're prepared," Harper told CTV Newsnet Wednesday.

"I think it's important that the opposition parties act together, and that's what I've endeavoured to do here."

However, a new Decima Research survey claims Canadians would prefer two-to-one to have a federal election in the spring, rather than in January or February. 

The poll, obtained by Canadian Press Wednesday, also shows how Canadians are likely to vote:

• 33 per cent would back the Liberals
• 26 per cent would support the Conservatives
• 22 per cent would vote for the NDP
• 13 per cent would pick the Bloc Quebecois

Comparing it to a Decima poll done last week, Liberal support is unchanged. The Conservatives are down four percentage points, but the NDP has gained favour with voters in four of the last five weeks.

Meanwhile, some opposition members claim voters are telling them they are not put off by the prospect of a winter election.

Conservative MP John Reynolds said voters were "all happy as hell."

Reynolds told The Globe and Mail that when he appeared on a radio program in Vancouver, the callers were anti-Liberal.

"Every call they had on was against the government'" he said. "You know: 'It's time they went;' 'They're crooks;' 'Big deal, a little bit of tax cuts trying to bribe me for my vote.'"

And NDP strategist Brad Lavigne told CTV's Canada AM that that the timing of an election was not expected to be a major factor. He said voters were giving positive feedback on NDP Leader Jack Layton's performance.

"Jack Layton is initiating the kind of leadership people want to see, not looking out for friends and insiders but looking out for people," he said Thursday.

Election time table sketched out

Harper said while he was "open to quicker timetables," he had agreed with NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe to introduce the motion to topple the government next Thursday -- November 24.

However, as is typical for such motions, the vote on it will likely be deferred until the following Monday -- November 28.

It's the first time Harper has suggested a firm date for the vote amid weeks of intense speculation about an election call.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Paul Martin again rejected the NDP compromise proposal that would see an election campaign beginning in January.

Before leaving for a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders in South Korea on Wednesday, Martin told reporters he wanted to focus on governing.

"I made it very clear that I am here to govern, I am going to Korea today because I want to govern," said Martin after a caucus meeting.

"I will continue to govern until ... a non-confidence motion is passed by the opposition and the government falls."

Decima Research found that support for the Liberal party rises in a January or February election scenario. The Liberals would have 34 per cent support, the Conservatives would be unchanged at 26 per cent, and the New Democrats would slip two percentage points to 20 per cent.

The poll also found that Conservative voters are most likely to brave a chilly winter day to head to the ballot box. They are just as likely to turn out to vote in January as in April.

But, three per cent of Liberal and NDP voters would be likely to stay home during an early election, and five per cent of Bloc Quebecois supporters wouldn't get out to vote.

Decima Research surveyed 1,028 Canadians. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent 19 times out of twenty.