

Chris Herhalt, CP24.com





Thomas Mulcair’s New Democrats are continuing to increase their lead, according to a new poll by Forum Research.

The survey of 1399 Canadians across the country finds 39 per cent of respondents said they would vote for the NDP, a jump of six per cent from a month earlier.

The poll, which was conducted immediately after the election was called Sunday morning, found 28 per cent of respondents said they will vote Conservative, while 25 per cent said they will vote for the Liberals.

The NDP are now ahead in Quebec, British Columbia and the Maritimes, while the Conservatives lead in Alberta.

The poll found that despite the NDP’s higher support, they would still fall short of attaining a majority government if the vote were held now.

Thirty-nine per cent support for the party translates into 160 seats according to Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff’s projection. The winning party needs 170 seats for a majority.

“The Tory vote has been extremely efficient over the years. When you do the count the way we’ve done it, it gets the NDP close to there. But if the Tories had 39 (per cent), for sure they’d have a majority.)”

Bozinoff said he feels the Conservative’s attack ad against Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, claiming he is not ready to lead the country, has succeeded — in driving people to vote for Mulcair.

“A lot of Liberal supporters identify more with the NDP than with the Conservatives. So I think some of that vote has been shaken loose and I think it’s gone to the NDP.”

The poll found close to 40 per cent each of Liberal and NDP supporters say they are voting strategically, but Bozinoff says that is not uncommon for elections.

Respondents gave Prime Minister Stephen Harper an approval rating of 32 per cent, while Mulcair got a 48 per cent rating and Trudeau received a 39 per cent approval rating.

The poll used an interactive voice response system and is considered accurate within +/-3 per cent, 19 times out of 20.