Liberals take 6-point national lead, advance in key provinces: poll

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau asks a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The Liberals are now leading in three battleground provinces: Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, according to the poll. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The Senate expenses scandal appears to have eroded national support for the Conservatives as the Liberals now have a six-point lead, according to the latest Ipsos Reid poll conducted for CTV News.

If a federal election were held tomorrow, here’s how the vote breakdown would look like among decided voters. (The difference since the end of October is shown in brackets):

The numbers suggest that “the soft NDP vote is starting to rally” behind Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and his party, according to Ipsos Reid.

The Liberals are now leading in three battleground provinces: Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, according to the poll.

The poll also found that Liberal supporters appear to be most motivated to cast a ballot in 2015.

Among the 52 per cent of surveyed Canadians who said that “nothing short of an emergency could stop me from getting to the voting booth and casting my vote,” the Liberal vote rose by two points to 37 per cent, while Conservative support was unchanged at 29 per cent.

“With the election still being two years away, the Conservatives have time on their side,” Ipsos Reid said in a news release.

“But, their own decline coupled with the NDP’s shrinkage makes this the most disadvantageous opinion environment for the Conservatives since just prior to the failed coalition of 2008.”

Ipsos Reid surveyed 1,014 Canadian adults online between Nov. 25 and Nov. 27. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 per cent.