The Liberals have moved into the lead in the latest Forum Research poll, collecting 35 per cent support to 31 per cent for the Conservatives and 26 per cent for the NDP.

The Greens and the Bloc round out the field with 3 and 4 per cent respectively, and 1 per cent of respondents said they plan to vote for “other.”

The Liberals haven’t had sole possession of the lead in a Forum poll since mid-June, and the last time the party was out in front with this wide a margin over second place was March 14, when they stood at 36 per cent support, to 32 per cent for the Conservatives, and 21 per cent for the NDP.

In Ontario, the Liberals hold a slim lead with 38 per cent support, the Conservatives are sitting at 33 per cent and the NDP has dropped to 23 per cent.

In Quebec, where the controversy over the niqab face veil worn continues to rage, the NDP remain in front ahead of the Liberals 34 per cent to 24 per cent support. The Conservatives sit at 23 per cent, the Bloc Québécois 16 per cent, the Greens 2 per cent, and “other” 1 per cent.

While the niqab controversy continues to be on the minds of some voters, the latest Forum poll found 73 per cent said the issue won’t influence their vote, 20 per cent of respondents said it will. About half of the latter category (11 per cent) said the issue will influence them a “great deal.”

Forum president Lorne Bozinoff argues the results suggest that while Stephen Harper’s support for a niqab ban has traction in Quebec, his position on the issue may be “backfiring” elsewhere in Canada.

With a tight two-way race underway heading into the election, Forum asked respondents their views on a possible coalition government. Fifty-eight per cent of those polled said they feel two or more parties forming a coalition is appropriate. Fifty-two per cent support the idea of a Liberal-NDP coalition, while 38 per cent said they oppose that scenario, and 9 per cent answered “don’t know.”

The Liberal, NDP, and Conservative campaigns did not provide comment Wednesday on the latest Forum results.

Results from the latest Forum poll are based on a random, interactive voice response telephone survey of 1,447 adult Canadians, conducted Oct. 5 and 6. The results are considered accurate plus or minus 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Forum’s poll is weighted statistically by age, region and other variables to ensure the sample reflects the actual population according to the latest census data. The weighting formula has been shared with the Star and raw polling results are housed at the University of Toronto’s political science department’s data library.

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