Canadians believe that the Liberals have run the best campaign than any other party and as high as 36 percent say they will vote for the Liberals if the election is held now, a new poll suggested.

A quarter of Canadians think the Liberals have run the best campaign so far, while 23 percent say it is the Conservatives, 16 percent say the NDP and 10 percent say the Bloc, said the poll, which was conducted on Dec. 21-22 by the Strategic Counsel.

This result is up 6 points for the Liberals, who got 19 percent on a Dec. 5-6 poll, while the Conservatives have slipped from 26 to 23 percent.

When asked who they would vote for if the election were held today, 36 percent say they would choose the Liberals, with 29 percent for the conservatives, 17 percent for the New Democratic Party (NDP) and 13 percent for Bloc Quebecois.

That is 3 points up for the Liberals compared with a poll done two days before, and 1 point down for the Conservatives.

In Quebec, the Liberals have gained some ground on the Bloc Quebecois, rising to 29 percent in the polls from 24 percent on Dec. 19-21. The Bloc has slipped from 54 to 52 percent over the same period.

Taking Quebec out of the equation, the Liberals and Conservatives are running virtually neck-and-neck in the rest of Canada, 38 percent to 37 percent, while the NDP is at 19 percent.

When asked if it is time for a change in government, 54 percent of Canadians said yes, down from 56 percent a week earlier, while 38 percent said now is the wrong time to make a change, up three percentage points.

The polls came as the four main party leaders are preparing to enter a truce before the Christmas holiday season, bringing to the end the first half of the 56-day campaign.

The Liberals, Conservatives, New Democrats and Bloc Qubcois have all said they will not be officially campaigning again until Jan. 2. Election is exactly three weeks later on Jan. 23.

Since the campaign kicked off on Nov. 29, the Liberals have averaged about 34 to 35 percent support in Strategic Counsel polls, dipping to a low of 33 and reaching a high of 36 percent.

The Tories have averaged about 29 percent support, with their lowest number being 28 and reaching a high of 31 percent.

Source: Xinhua