HALIFAX -- A new poll suggests the governing NDP trailed the Opposition Liberals in Nova Scotia last month amid growing speculation of a provincial election call.
The poll released Wednesday by Corporate Research Associates indicates the Liberals were ahead with 41 per cent support among those polled.
Premier Darrell Dexter's NDP government was 10 points behind at 31 per cent, while the Progressive Conservatives had 25 per cent support.
The poll suggests that 41 per cent of Nova Scotia voters were undecided, something pollster Margaret Brigley says could mean pressure will be on party leaders to attract votes as an election looms in the province.
"It really suggests that there's an opportunity here for the leaders to stand up and truly demonstrate that they would be the ones who would be best suited to lead the province," said Brigley, president of Corporate Research Associates.
The survey was conducted by phone from Aug. 8 to Aug. 31 and sampled 1,601 people in the province, with results considered accurate to within 2.4 percentage points, 95 times out of 100.
Dexter said he wasn't fazed by the results, telling reporters he is used to trailing in the polls.
"I have always been an underdog in every election I have ever gone into," he said. "But people know me, they know what's important to me."
The New Democrats ended 10 years of Conservative rule and also formed the first majority in Nova Scotia in a decade when they won the last provincial election in 2009.
The party took 31 of the province's 52 ridings and 45 per cent of the popular vote, with Dexter becoming the first NDP premier in Atlantic Canada.
