A new poll suggests the Liberals and Conservatives were running neck-and-neck during warm-up laps for the 40-day federal election campaign.
The Leger poll, released today just hours before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to ask the Governor General to fire the starting gun, suggests the NDP and Greens were also in a dead heat _ competing for a distant third place.
The online poll of 1,546 eligible voters, conducted Sept. 6 to 9, put Conservative support at 35 per cent to the Liberals' 34 per cent..
The NDP and Greens were tied at 11 per cent, with the fledgling People's Party bringing up the rear with just three per cent.
The poll suggests the Liberals were ahead in Ontario and Quebec, the two provinces that account for almost 60 per cent of the 338 seats up for grabs _ but the battle among the smaller parties could ultimately decide which of the two main parties wins the big prize.
Leger's internet-based survey cannot be assigned a margin of error because online polls are not considered random samples.