A new poll shows that if an election was held today, the Liberals and the Conservatives would be neck-and-neck in the race for national support. The numbers show a boost for the Liberals in the past week, indicating a recovery from bombshell news from the sponsorship inquiry.

In the total sample of the poll, conducted for CTV and The Globe and Mail by The Strategic Counsel, Liberals are polling at 30 per cent and the Conservatives trail close behind at 28 per cent. (That two percent gap is within the poll's margin of error, meaning the parties are statistically tied.)

The NDP are at 18 per cent in this new poll, and the Green Party is at 10 per cent.

In Quebec, the numbers are less encouraging for the Liberals: They have 16 per cent support, compared to 55 per cent for the Bloc Quebecois and nine per cent for the Conservatives.

"The grip they have on the province of Quebec is getting tighter and tighter and tighter," said pollster Allan Gregg of the BQ's continuing strength. "And the federalist forces appear to be in complete disarray."

Nationally, the numbers indicate Conservative support has weakened in the past two weeks, after a surge during the worst of the sponsorship inquiry revelations.

"In two weeks, as the news agenda shifts away from corruption to now election timing, they are now on the wrong side issue, and their support falls," Gregg said.

The polling was done between April 24 and 27, starting three days after Prime Minister Paul Martin's televised speech last Thursday. That's when he pleaded with Canadians to await the results of the sponsorship inquiry later this year before judging the actions of his government.

Canadians seemed to take kindly to Martin's suggestion. According to the poll, 61 per cent felt Martin's offer to call an election within 30 days of receiving the sponsorship inquiry report was reasonable. Another 33 per cent felt the offer was unreasonable and six per cent said they did not know.

These numbers, more of which will be published Friday morning, show voter volatility, much more than one would have seen in a federal campaign 10 or 15 years ago.

"It's an entirely different game," says Gregg. "If you were eight points ahead you couldn't lose, if you were eight points behind you couldn't win. Today we're seeing polls move 15 points in two weeks."

Polling details: This poll was conducted for CTV and The Globe and Mail by The Strategic Counsel. Telephone interviewing was conducted between April 24 and 27, 2005. The weighted nation-wide sample is based on 1,000 which yields a margin of error of 3.1 per cent 19 times in 20. (Note: Proportions may not sum to 100 per cent due to rounding.)

Friday night on CTV: Strategic Counsel polled on various aspects of Paul Martin's speech to Canadians last week, and how the public responded to it.