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Notley’s victory on May 5 added fuel to a national surge in the polls by Mulcair’s NDP, with poll aggregator ThreeHundredEight.com putting the party in a narrow lead over the Conservatives and Liberals this week.

Ian Large, regional vice-president for polling firm Leger, said that in Alberta support for the federal NDP has essentially doubled since the period before the provincial election, though the Conservatives remain in the lead.

“There is no question that it does help. How much it does remains to be seen,” he said.

In its most recent survey, conducted just before the writ was dropped for the federal vote, Leger had the NDP at 32 per cent compared to the Tories’ 43 per cent. The Liberals were at 21 per cent.

The poll’s sample size is too small to allow for regional breakdowns, but the NDP’s best chances to improve its fortunes is seen to be in Edmonton.

In the last two federal elections, Linda Duncan has been the only non-Conservative elected in Alberta as she has won Edmonton Strathcona for the NDP.

Mount Royal University political analyst David Taras noted in a recent interview there is still a sense of “euphoria” for New Democrats in Edmonton after the party’s clean sweep of the capital in the provincial vote.

That makes Edmonton the most likely place for the NDP to pick up seats, though federal party representatives insist they are competitive in Lethbridge and some Calgary ridings as well.

The party continues to have some issues in the province, however. The NDP has candidates nominated in less than a third of the province’s 34 seats and there are still questions over its organization.