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Tories maintain slight lead over Liberals in new poll, but with smaller gap

OTTAWA — A new poll suggests Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals have regained some popular support after the Conservatives enjoyed a surge when Pierre Poilievre became leader last month.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre greet each other as they gather in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. A new poll suggest Trudeau's Liberals have gained several points in support this month, after the Conservatives enjoyed a surge when Pierre Poilievre became leader.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — A new poll suggests Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals have regained some popular support after the Conservatives enjoyed a surge when Pierre Poilievre became leader last month.

The data released Wednesday by Leger is based on an online survey it did between Oct. 7 and 10 with 1,534 Canadians. It cannot be assigned a margin of error because online polls are not considered truly random samples.

The survey asked people which federal political party they would most likely vote for if an election were held today, and 33 per cent of decided voters chose the Conservatives. 

That's compared to 31 per cent who picked the Liberals and 21 per cent who opted for the New Democrats. 

While the Tories are in the lead, the data shows they lost one percentage point of support among decided voters since the same question was asked last month, while the Liberals gained three points. 

A more detailed breakdown shows that 36 per cent of respondents in Ontario would back Trudeau, compared to 32 per cent who say they would choose Poilievre. 

The gap is wider in Quebec, where 29 per cent of respondents picked the Liberals, over the 22 per cent who chose the Tories. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2022. 

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press