Ignatieff vaults Liberals into tie with Tories, poll suggests

OTTAWA — The Liberal party has bounced back into contention with Michael Ignatieff at the helm, a new poll suggests.

The Liberals have moved into a statistical tie with the governing Tories, according to the Nanos Research survey provided exclusively to The Canadian Press.

Liberal support stood at 34 per cent, the poll suggests, one point ahead of the Conservatives and up eight points from the Liberals' dismal showing in the Oct. 14 election under the leadership of Stephane Dion.

The Tories slipped almost five points from the election to 33 per cent while NDP and Green support was virtually unchanged at 19 per cent and seven per cent respectively.

The Liberal resurgence was particularly pronounced in Quebec, where the poll indicates the party vaulted into the lead with 39 per cent support to 29 per cent for the Bloc Quebecois, 17 per cent for the Tories and 14 per cent for the NDP.

Voter enchantment with Ignatieff, who was hastily installed as leader last month, appeared to be the driving force behind the Liberal bounce