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Justin Trudeau has not even formally announced his bid for the Liberal leadership, and already a poll suggests he would lead his party to power if an election were held today with him at the helm.

News broke on Wednesday that Mr. Trudeau will announce a run next Tuesday for the party’s top job when they pick a leader next April to replace interim head Bob Rae. Just hours later, Forum Research had sussed out whether his leadership could be a game-changer for the third-place party.

In an exclusive poll conducted for the National Post, Forum found if Mr. Trudeau were leader of the Liberal Party and an election were held today, the Grits would win, handily, with 39% of the popular vote.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives would come in second, with 32% of the vote, and the NDP — today the Official Opposition and led by Thomas Mulcair — would return to third-party status, with just 20% of the vote.

“The real news here is that Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader has the effect of taking all the wind out of the NDP’s sails,” said Lorne Bozinoff, Forum Research’s president, of the 14% bump Mr. Trudeau would lend the Liberals.

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Mr. Trudeau refused to answer questions from reporters on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, saying “I have nothing to announce today,” but the Quebec MP will reportedly announce his leadership intentions in his home riding of Papineau on Oct. 2 — the birthday of his youngest brother, Michel, who died 14 years ago in a B.C. avalanche.