The Greens may be ahead of the NDP because of their environmental priorities, a key issue this election

The debate takes place Thursday at 5 p.m. PST, and will be airing live on Citytv and the NEWS 1130 website

OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – The dynamic of the upcoming federal election campaign is getting a bit of a shake up. The latest poll shows the Greens have passed the NDP with just days to go before the first leadership debate.

The survey, from Mainstreet Research, shows the Liberals are on top at 37 per cent and the Conservatives are at 34. But for the first time ever, the Green Party is polling in third place, ahead of the New Democrats.

“We have the Greens now at 10.8, a couple of points ahead of the NDP at 8.4 nationally,” Mainstreet CEO Quito Maggi says, adding this is reflective of the fact that the environment has emerged as a top priority for voters in this campaign.

“It’s not surprising that we’re seeing this shift to the Greens, whose main focus that is.”

The NDP and Greens have been targeting each other in recent weeks, and Maggi expects a political showdown when Jagmeet Singh and Elizabeth May face off in the Citytv-Maclean’s leaders debate, working to pick up progressive support.

“It’s going to continue being a bit of an ugly fight,” he says.

The debate takes place Thursday at 5 p.m. PST, and will be airing live on Citytv and the NEWS 1130 website. Andrew Scheer, Elizabeth May and Jagmeet Singh are participating, but Justin Trudeau has declined to attend.