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Ottawa: The first major opinion poll taken after Canada's election debates has shown that the ruling Conservatives were headed for a strengthened mandate but still would fall short of a majority of seats in Parliament.
The Ekos survey on Sunday put the Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, at 35 per cent and the Liberals back at 25 per cent. The New Democratic Party (NDP), to the left of the Liberals, stood at 19 per cent.
Debates in French and English on Wednesday and Thursday respectively "appear to have failed to shake up the election race, despite what some regarded as effective performances by opposition party leaders", Ekos said late on Sunday. The automated telephone survey was conducted on Friday through Sunday.
Another poll, a Nanos survey taken partly before the more widely watched English debate, had the Conservatives ahead by just 34 per cent to 30 per cent for the Liberals. The poll spanned Thursday through Saturday.
Second spot
The Liberals seized upon the fact that the leftist NDP, which had been doing so well that it had a shot at taking second place in the October 14 election, was 11 points behind in the Nanos survey at 19 per cent.
"Can someone tell me how in these numbers the NDP finishes second?" Liberal spokesman Jae Epworth asked in an e-mail.
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