Liberals riding high heading into weekend convention: poll

Perhaps delegates at the Liberal Party convention, this weekend, should be putting on their shades.

Why you may ask?

Well, at this point in time, their future looks pretty bright.

According to a new Ipsos Reid/CTV News survey, released late Tuesday, Justin Trudeau's party has taken a commanding eight point lead over the Conservatives.

"If an election were held tomorrow, the Liberals under Justin Trudeau would receive 37 per cent of the decided vote, up 4 points from early February, compared to the 29 per cent of decided voters who would vote for the Conservatives led by Prime Minster Stephen Harper – unchanged since before the budget," the pollster notes in a press release.

"With the opposition vote consolidating around the Liberals, support for Mulcair’s NDP has dropped 3 points to 24 per cent of the vote. The Bloc would receive 5 per cent nationally (down 2 points), while some other party (including the Green Party) would receive 5 per cent of the vote (up 1 point). Nearly two in ten (18 per cent) Canadians are undecided."

Ipsos does caution that if you factor in determined voters — those who say ‘nothing short of an unforeseen emergency could stop me from getting to the voting booth and casting my vote’ — the Liberal lead shrinks to four points.

Nevertheless, despite the ongoing Conservative Party attacks, the Liberal lead has been pretty consistent since the middle of last year.

The Liberals will hope to solidify their support and perhaps influence the undecided vote, this weekend, at their national policy convention in Montreal where the unofficial theme seems to be all about looking towards the future and putting the past behind them.

The party is expected to discuss some meaty forward-thinking policy ideas such as proportional representation, a comprehensive review of our tax system and an $18 billion a year infrastructure fund.

[ Related: Liberal convention lookahead: Will Trudeau offer up some meaty policy talk? ]

Moreover, according to the Canadian Press, the party will showcase some of their 'star' nomination candidates including "Jim Carr, president of the Business Council of Manitoba; Bill Morneau, head of the country's largest human resources consulting company and chairman of a respected think-tank; and Jody Wilson-Raybould, British Columbia regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations."

The Globe and Mail notes that neither of the former Liberal prime ministers will be in attendance and that none of the party's former Senators will have special status.

[ More Politics: NDP youth mock Stephen Harper with Facebook 'look back’ video ]

Justin Trudeau will welcome the nearly 3,000 delegates with a speech on Thursday evening.

Check back here and at the Political Points Twitter page for live updates from the event.

Note: The Ipsos/CTV poll was conducted online between February 14th and 18th, 2014 with a sample of 1,034 Canadians. The poll is accurate to within +/- 3.5 percentage points.

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