OTTAWA -- Jean Chrétien's popularity is at its lowest level in the past four years, both among Canadians in general and among Liberal Party supporters, a poll shows.

Nearly seven in 10 Canadians, or 68 per cent, believe the Prime Minister should step aside before the next election, says the Ipsos-Reid poll for The Globe and Mail and CTV. That's up from 59 per cent last fall.

Among supporters of Mr. Chrétien's own Liberal Party, 58 per cent say he should resign to make room for a new leader, up from 43 per cent last fall.

"I think the last two weeks have obviously not been his best in government and in Parliament," said Darrell Bricker, Ipsos-Reid president.

"It [the number of people who want Mr. Chrétien to step aside] is the highest we've ever seen it."

The poll was done before the weekend standoff between Mr. Chrétien and former finance minister Paul Martin that resulted in Mr. Martin leaving cabinet yesterday. Mr. Chrétien blamed supporters of Mr. Martin for leaking information that has hurt his Liberal government's reputation.

The poll was done after Mr. Chrétien fired Art Eggleton from his position as defence minister after it was revealed that Mr. Eggleton awarded a contract to his ex-girlfriend. Mr. Chrétien also demoted former Public Works minister Don Boudria for staying at the luxury residence of Claude Boulay, whose firm, Groupe Everest, is a major donor to the Liberals and received millions of dollars in government sponsorship contracts.

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, Immigration Minister Denis Coderre and Solicitor-General Lawrence MacAulay have also been under fire for ethical conflicts over the past couple of weeks.

Mr. Chrétien has tried to halt the criticisms by promising to bring in stricter conflict-of-interest rules for leadership candidates, and for members of Parliament. But the Prime Minister's own research is telling his staff that the ethics scandal is having a negative effect on his popular support, sources have said.

Mr. Chrétien has battled back before. Among Canadians in general, 58 per cent said he should leave in June, 1998, rising to 65 per cent by November of that year. By March of 2000, that had dropped to 61 per cent saying he should quit, falling further to 59 per cent in September, 2001. Support among Liberals for the Prime Minister has ebbed and flowed as well.

In June, 1998, 46 per cent of Liberal supporters thought he should go, rising to 55 per cent in November, 1998. By March, 2000, he had recovered somewhat, with 47 per cent of Liberals saying he should move on, dropping to 43 per cent in September of last year.

The Prime Minister's popularity could recover again, Mr. Bricker said.

But the Canadian public is looking for something substantial, he added. "He has got to somehow get this behind him. He's got to start getting some good news on the table that relates to some sort of series of ideas and a program."

At the same time, support for the Canadian Alliance is inching up, rising three percentage points to 18 per cent since Stephen Harper was elected leader. The Liberals, however, still command overwhelming popularity -- among decided voters, 43 per cent support the Liberals, down two percentage points since March.