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New poll suggests that Jean Charest’s Liberals could win a majority in Quebec election

It seems the 'comeback kid of Quebec politics is making, well, a comeback.

According to a new Forum Research/National Post poll, Liberal leader Jean Charest is finally gaining momentum.

The poll, conducted Monday, reveals a sudden turnaround in voters' intentions, which had, in previous surveys, given the edge to the Pauline Marois Parti Québécois.

Of 1,602 telephone respondents surveyed, more than one-third of voters said they would vote for the Liberals, pushing Jean Charest's party to 35 per cent, more than four points higher than polls had suggested the Liberals enjoyed as recently as last week.

[ Related: Talk of sovereignty, promoting French culture is bad for Quebec's economy ]

Much of the gain appeared to come from voters previously backing the PQ, which saw its popularity drop six points to 29 per cent. Support for the fledgling Coalition Avenir Québec showed little change, at 24 per cent.

"In an astounding turn of events, these voting intention results — if they hold on election day — would see the Liberals claim a 63 per cent majority in the 125-seat house, up from just 42 seats last week," reads the Forum report.

An important caveat of the survey is that it was conducted on Monday, prior to the one-on-one debates between the party leaders this week.

It also doesn't reflect any changes to voters' impressions, following a Liberal mutiny of sorts on Tuesday, when a long-time Liberal organizer in Quebec City urged party supporters, through different media interviews, to rally behind the CAQ for this one election to avoid a sovereigntist government.

"Liberals won't form the next government, of course," Jean-Paul Boily, campaigner, fundraiser and cheerleader for the Quebec Liberals for 30 years, wrote in an open letter.

"Maybe a minority. But, after the Charbonneau Commission, the whole party will be (stained) by this, and they will lose credibility."

Even Lorne Borzinoff, Forum's President, admits that the race is still wide open and that anything can happen between now and election day on September 4.

[ Related: What a Parti Québécois victory would mean for the rest of Canada ]

"This proves the old adage that Quebec politics is like [British] weather; if you don't like it, wait a moment," he said.

"We've seen the PQ and the Liberals trade the lead several times now, with CAQ as the fulcrum. The next two weeks will be very interesting."

Interesting, indeed.