OTTAWA - A new poll suggests the Liberals and Conservatives are running neck-and-neck nationally, with the Tories closing the gap in the key electoral battleground of Ontario.
The Decima survey, provided to The Canadian Press, gives the Liberals a one percentage point lead nationally -- 33 per cent to 32 per cent -- which is within the 3.1 percentage point margin of error.
The survey puts the NDP at 15 per cent, the Bloc Quebecois at nine, and the Green party at eight.
The poll suggests the Liberal lead in Ontario has shrunk to four percentage points, compared with an 18-point gap at the start of the month.
But the margin of error is greater on the Ontario numbers because of the smaller sample size.
The Bloc Quebecois held a huge lead in Quebec at 42 per cent, compared with 21 per cent for the Liberals and 17 per cent for the Tories.
Decima CEO Bruce Anderson says the Tory promise to address climate change, and the party's anti-Liberal attack TV ads, appear to be paying dividends with Ontarians and female voters.
The survey of 1,013 people was conducted Feb. 8 to 12.