A new poll finds Stephane Dion's victory at the Liberal leadership convention puts the party ahead of the ruling Conservatives for the first time since January's election.

The Liberals have moved six percentage points ahead of Stephen Harper's Conservatives, according to a poll conducted by the Strategic Counsel for CTV and The Globe and Mail in the hours after the convention.

Dion scored a surprise win over political rookie Michael Ignatieff on the fourth ballot in a highly dramatic convention that ended early Saturday evening.

When asked which party they would vote for if an election were held today, the Liberals led by Dion came out on top: (percentage-point change from an Oct. 12-15 poll in brackets):

• Liberals: 37 per cent (+5)
• Conservatives: 31 per cent (-1)
• NDP: 14 per cent (-3)
• Bloc Quebecois: 11 per cent (unchanged)
• Greens: 7 per cent (-2)

In Ontario, the Liberals experienced a 12-point jump, going from 36 per cent to 48 per cent. The Tories dropped a point to 32 per cent. However, in Quebec and the West, the Liberals' numbers were flat.

"The Liberal Party has had almost a week of sustained and generally favourable media coverage, so everybody really expected they would get a bump in the polls," CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife said.

Approval numbers for Harper's government remain in the black: 56 per cent approve of the job his government is doing, while 38 per cent disapprove.

However, pollster Tim Woolstencroft of The Strategic Counsel told CTV.ca those numbers are eroding when compared to figures from the summer. In mid-July, 67 per cent approved and 27 per cent disapproved.

Asked about how Harper and Dion would measure up in an election campaign, Fife said: "Stephane Dion and Stephen Harper are men of great integrity, high intelligence and are strategic thinkers.

"They also have different visions of the country. So I think we are going to see an amazing federal election campaign."

Most observers think Canada could be plunged into an election as early as this spring.

The poll also finds that choice of Dion as Liberal leader seems to have the initial stamp of approval from the Canadian public and has also given the party a bump in popularity.

"We have the Liberal grassroots thinking that Dion was a better choice and Canadians seem to agree," said Fife.

The Strategic Counsel poll found that 55 per cent of Canadians consider Dion to be a good choice for leader.

Nineteen per cent felt the Quebec MP and cabinet veteran was a poor choice, while 27 per cent had no opinion.

"Stephane Dion is a little like (former Liberal prime minister) Jean Chretien. The media and elites always underestimated Chretien, but he identified with people on Main Street," Fife said.

"I think average Canadians respect Stephane Dion because he's gutsy and he's tough, and I think (Conservative Prime Minister) Stephen Harper should be very careful."

In Dion's home province, 62 per cent found Dion a good choice while 29 per cent said he was a poor one.

Both those numbers are the highest and lowest for any regional breakout.

While 27 per cent polled either didn't know or refused to answer the Dion question, that number dropped to nine per cent in Quebec.

"They know him better there," Woolstencroft told CTV.ca.

Dion has been a polarizing figure in Quebec because he is a strong federalist.

Right now, a good interpretation is that Canadians appear willing to give Dion a chance, he said.

Woolstencroft said his performance in Parliament over the coming week could have an impact on defining his image.

Only about 34 of Canadians say they followed the campaign closely. In a separate question, Dion and Ignatieff came out highest for name recognition.

Technical notes:

• The poll sampled 1,000 Canadians on Dec. 3, 2006. The results are based on tracking among a proportionate national sample of Canadians aged 18 or older.
• The margin of error for the national poll was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
• The margin of error for the Quebec subset, which had a sample size of 247, was plus or minus 6.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
• The margin of error for the Ontario subset, which had a sample size of 379, was plus or minus 5.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.