Conservative Party delegates have endorsed a traditional definition of marriage at their policy convention in an anticipated majority while rejecting the reopening of the abortion debate.

Saturday's vote in Montreal showed 75 per cent were in favour of the traditional definition of marriage.

"There was a vigorous debate but it wasn't personal or nasty. There were no walkouts," CTV's Mike Duffy reported.

"Some people had suggested that those who support same-sex marriage might split with the party and stage a dramatic walkout from the floor. None of that happened," he told CTV Newsnet.

Instead, the vote came after impassioned speeches for and against the resolution.

"Let me tell you, I have been across this country and I find from coast-to-coast, that if you had a referendum, you would find out that 90 per cent of the people in Canada are for the traditional family," said former Conservative MP Elsie Wayne.

What followed Wayne's speech was a response from MP Belinda Stronach who spoke in favour of gay marriage.

"We want to form government. I believe to do that we must reach out, we must broaden the base of support. We must be inclusive," she told her fellow Conservative Party members.

"I strongly support and commend our leader for allowing a free vote on this issue. But I recommend that we vote against this resolution because we must broaden the base of support and be inclusive and reach out."

This was an effort on Stronach's behalf to reach out to another demographic of potential voters, CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Bob Fife reported from the convention.

"I think she was trying to pitch her message to the larger public, particularly younger people and people in urban areas who may be in favour of marriage."

The abortion debate

Meanwhile, Conservative delegates rejected reopening the abortion debate when they voted not to push for new legislation, endorsing leader Stephen Harper's position.

The move is a shift in Conservative policy -- for years the party was the vehicle for the anti-abortion movement.

But the vote did not pass without a flurry of debate. Once again, former MP Wayne was at the forefront, denouncing the vote results.

"Society has gone to hell in a handbag. And that isn't the way the Conservatives want us to be."

On the convention floor, she spoke against abortion.

"I do not believe that the majority of our people at this convention are in favour of killing babies," she said.

"You know that abortion kills babies."

Same-sex discrimination

Meanwhile, as Conservatives tackle controversial topics at their policy convention, a new poll indicates that the national debate on same-sex marriage has led many Canadians to believe same-sex discrimination is on the rise.

According to a new Ipsos-Reid survey conducted for CTV News, 39 per cent of Canadians believe recent debate has made the situation worse for gays and lesbians.

In contrast, fewer than one in 10 believe the discourse has decreased prejudice.

Close to half of those surveyed, 48 per cent, said they believe the debate has not had any effect one way or the other.

Comparing the findings from province to province, those living in the Prairies were more likely to believe the debate had increased discrimination. In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, for example, 58 per cent believe discrimination has increased as a result. In Alberta, the figure is 52 per cent.

Quebec is at the other end of the spectrum, with only 28 per cent agreeing that the debate has increased intolerance.

Nationwide, university-educated Canadians are the least likely to believe talk of same-sex marriage has reduced discrimination. Only 30 per cent fell into that category, compared with 42 per cent among those with lower levels of education.

The poll is based on a random sample of 1,001 Canadians surveyed by telephone between March 15 and 17.

The results, which have been weighted to represent the Canadian population, are considered accurate within ± 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

With files from The Canadian Press