General

Liberals gaining ground on Tories: poll

Grits make inroads in Ontario, Quebec

It’s hardly a groundswell of public approval, but the Liberals’ gain of a single percentage point has vaulted them into a tie with the Conservatives at 32 per cent support, according to the latest Canadian Press-Decima Harris poll. The real story is that the Conservatives have seen their once-dominant lead in the polls shrink by 15 points in the last two months, a decline almost entirely attributed to the government’s move to prorogue Parliament over the winter break. In the meantime, the Liberals have made steady inroads in key ridings, especially in Ontario and Quebec. “They are emerging as the federalist default option to the BQ in the province of Quebec, they are ahead in Ontario for the first time since September,” Harris-Decima chairman Allan Gregg says of the Liberals’ fortunes. “And the Liberals are regaining their historic dominance with female voters—a kind of bedrock of the constituency they have got to bolt together if they are going to have any chance to win.” Meanwhile, the NDP clocked in at 15 per cent support, the Bloc 10 per cent, and the Greens nine per cent.

Globe and Mail

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