In the business of politics it sometimes pays to be negative, says a university researcher who studied question period decorum in Ottawa.

A controversial study released Wednesday by McMaster University’s Alex Sevigny concluded that NDP Leader Jack Layton, who has often promised to return civility to the 308-member Parliament, is in fact the least civil MP of all.

But Sevigny told the Toronto Star that being uncivil is not necessarily a bad thing, especially for opposition leaders vying for recognition and sound bites during the rough and tumble of question period.

The study, conducted during the spring, found that Layton is among the worst offenders in the Commons, for negative exchanges during Question Period. Incidentally, he was virtually tied with former Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.

“Mr. Layton is probably doing his job if he is being perceived as provocative. That is really the way to interpret this,” said Sevigny, who acknowledges he is a card-carrying Liberal. He noted his co-author Philip Savage is an NDP supporter.

Sevigny presented his report on Wednesday at the annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

When the study was released, many were left scratching their heads and questioning its methodology.

“Anyone who has seen Jack Layton in action knows that this is simply not the case,” said Layton’s spokesperson Karl Belanger.

The irony won’t be lost on many when the New Democrats hand out buttons at the return of Parliament Thursday reading Opto Civilitas, Latin for “I choose civility.”

The civility index looked at how rude or civil MPs behaved while conducting themselves during question period in the 40th Parliament. Conservative MP Rona Ambrose (Edmonton–Spruce Grove) led the House with a civility index of 68.

On a scale of one to 100, with one being the lowest score and 100 being the model of civility, MPs got an average of 58 for both partisan comments and personal attacks. MPs averaged 34 out of 100 for rudeness.

The 60-year-old Layton was deemed the most negative with a score of 39, just below Ignatieff, who was defeated in the recent federal election. The biggest surprise was that Conservative attack dog John Baird didn’t top the charts.

NDP MP Pat Martin said he was surprised that he didn’t make the negative hit parade.

“Of all guys, Jack. The poor guy does his best to be civil during question period,” the MP for Winnipeg Centre told the Star.

“I got a full four years to earn back my reputation,” Martin joked.

Sevigny said with all the criticism levelled at the conduct of MPs during question period he was surprised to find that “it was far more civil” than he had expected it would be.

The study also found that most questions during question period are rhetorical rather than trying to get information.