TORONTO — Successive scandals, a historic deficit and an unpopular new tax have taken a heavy toll on Ontario’s Liberal government, according to a poll released Tuesday, which shows support plummeting.

The poll, conducted by Nanos Research, puts Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals in a virtual tie with the Conservatives, led by Tim Hudak.

Support for the Liberals is at 36.6 per cent, while the Tories garner 35 per cent support.

Nanos’s last poll, in May, had the Liberals at 47 per cent support, 16 points ahead of the Tories.

Since then, however, the second-term government has undergone a series of scandals, including embarrassing spending revelations at eHealth Ontario, which prompted the exit of the agency head, the board chair and ultimately the health minister himself, David Caplan.

Just weeks ago, Liberal finance minister Dwight Duncan announced the province will run a nearly $25-billion deficit, the largest in Ontario’s history and significantly higher than the $14.1 billion projected seven months earlier.

The Nanos poll also shows Premier Dalton McGuinty’s leadership numbers in free fall, sliding to 26.9 per cent popularity from 42.1 per cent in May.

Undecided voters rose to 28.1 per cent from 20.4 over the same period.

“The government is bruised over a series of issues such as eHealth and the deficit,” said pollster Nick Nanos. “The only possible silver lining (for the Liberals) is that people have moved from thinking McGuinty is the best premier into the unsure column.”

The poll, which sampled 503 adult Ontarians, was conducted between October 24-25 and is considered accurate to within 4.4 per centage points 19 times out of 20.

Observers expect the government’s rocky road to continue.

On Monday, the government introduced legislation that will create a new 13 per cent Harmonized Sales Tax that will add tax on a number of previously exempt consumer items, like gasoline, gym memberships and home heating costs.

The HST is being praised by business advocates who will see their taxes fall, creating a more competitive playing field.

But consumer anger is strong and doesn’t appear to be fading, according to Frank Hall, president of Holinshed Research Group Inc.

Hall released a poll Tuesday showing 76 per cent of respondents disagreed with the imposition of the blended tax.

“This is a decisive number,” he said, adding respondents believe they can stop the tax.

McGuinty, meanwhile, hinted to reporters he understood the challenges of selling the HST.

“I think it will be the subject of some considerable conversation between now and election day,” he said. “This is a good thing.”