A new poll shows the Parti Quebecois is increasing its lead on its rivals ahead of the Sept. 4 election.
The poll, conducted by CROP for Montreal newspaper La Presse, shows the PQ with 34 per cent of the vote -- enough to form a majority government.
The results show the party increased its lead two percentage points since the same poll was conducted last week.
CROP put the governing Liberals in second place with 27 per cent and the newly created Coalition for the Future of Quebec (CAQ) closely following at 25 per cent, up four points.
However, CROP noted that nearly 20 per cent of voters polled were undecided.
The results suggested that vote splitting between the Liberals and CAQ is helping the PQ increase its lead.
The Liberals have since taken aim at the CAQ, which is seen to be eating away at its votes.
In Montreal on Thursday, Liberal leader Jean Charest told reporters that a vote for the CAQ is like a vote for PQ leader Pauline Marois.
Charest also called CAQ leader Francois Legault an unreliable political leader after Legault, a longtime separatist, promised to put the independence question on hold if elected.
The PQ, which advocates for Quebec’s sovereignty, has said if elected the party would bolster language laws in the province, making it mandatory for companies to operate in French in the province.
On Tuesday, Marois announced that she would introduce a Charter of Secularism, which would forbid public employees from wearing religious symbols on the job, like head scarves.
An Angus Reid poll released on Wednesday shows most Quebecers would not see a PQ win as a call for sovereignty.
In the online survey of 1,505 Canadian adults, 45 per cent of respondents in Canada—and 67 per cent in Quebec—believe a PQ victory would mean that Quebecers want a different provincial government than the one they have now.
Only 29 per cent of Canadians and 20 per cent of Quebecers would regard a PQ win as a sign that Quebecers want to become a sovereign state.
