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A new poll suggests the federal Conservatives have jumped four percentage points ahead of Liberals as Canadians weigh consistency against the prospect of change in the lead-up to the next election.

And while that may not seem like much of a lead, Ipsos Reid senior vice-president John Wright says those numbers could put Tories close to majority government territory.

According to the Ipsos survey for Global News, released Thursday, Tories sit at 35 per cent support nationally a jump of two percentage points since December. Justin Trudeaus Liberals are at 31 per cent, down three points from last month. In September, Ipsos numbers gave Liberals a seven-point lead.

Thomas Mulcair's New Democrats are stuck in third at 24 per cent, virtually unchanged from last month but seven points lower than where the party stood during its surge in the 2011 federal election.

Elizabeth Mays Greens are at four per cent support, Mario Beaulieus Bloc Quebecois are at six per cent support (but 25 per cent support in Quebec), while 17 per cent of respondents told the firm they are undecided.

The numbers show Conservatives have broken a tie in vote-rich Ontario and are now leading Liberals by seven percentage points, 41 per cent to 34 per cent. The NDP is at 21 per cent in Canadas most populous province.

The survey also pegs Harpers personal approval rating at 49 per cent the highest it has been since 2012.

The poll was conducted online between January 6 and 11, among a sample of 1,915 Canadians. It is considered accurate to within 2.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Wright told The Huffington Post Canada Friday that if the Tories have a four-point lead, theyre in really good shape.

For starters, Wright points to the fact that there will be new riding boundaries and 30 more seats at play in the next election to reflect population changes. Fifteen of those seats will be in Ontario, six each in Alberta and British Columbia and three in Quebec.

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Tories Lead Liberals, Could Be Headed For Majority Territory: Poll

VANCOUVER Liberal leader Justin Trudeau's much talked about support for legalizing marijuana has not helped the wife of a high-profile pot crusader get a shot at running for the party in the next election.

Jodie Emery's attempt to seek the nomination in the riding of Vancouver East has gone up in smoke.

Liberal spokesman Olivier Duchesneau confirmed the party's so-called GreenLight candidate review committee rejected her bid.

Jodie's husband Marc Emery was extradited to the U.S. in 2010, where he pleaded guilty to selling marijuana seeds to American customers and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Jodie Emery says she filed her nomination papers last September, about a month after Marc, a vocal advocate for legalizing marijuana who calls himself the "prince of pot," returned to Canada.

She says she respects the committee's decision, which she learned about from an email Friday afternoon, and has no plans to run for another party.

The governing Conservatives have repeatedly hammered Trudeau since he said he'd like to see marijuana legalized, taxed and regulated.

Trudeau's position has been a staple of Conservative ads and fundraising missives, and having Emery as a Liberal candidate would have no doubt provided further ammunition.

Duchesneau didn't provide specific reasons for why Emery's bid was turned down.

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Liberals reject Jodie Emery as a candidate

Marijuana activist Jodie Emery says her bid to become a Liberal MP has ended with the partys rejection Friday of her bid for the nomination in Vancouver East.

Ms. Emery said in an interview that the chair of the Liberal greenlight committee wrote Friday to say it is not recommending her as a candidate.

Ms. Emery said the very short and sweet note did not explain the committees specific objections.

However, she acknowledged her activism was likely an issue. Perhaps thats a bit too much baggage for the party.

Also, she suggested the Liberals likely now see Vancouver East as far more competitive given the decision of the ridings MP, veteran New Democrat Libby Davies, not to seek re-election.

Ms. Emery, who once ran as a candidate for B.Cs Green Party, said she respects the decision and will not run as an independent.

I support the Liberals. I want them to win ridings across Canada to defeat the Harper government, she said.

Ms. Emery said she understands her $1,000 nomination fee will be returned to her.

For now, she said she will focus on continued activism and attending to her husband Marc Emery, known as the Prince of Pot, who was released last summer after a five-year sentence in a U.S prison for selling marijuana seeds.

The long-awaited ruling eases a challenge for Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who had been facing questions about Ms. Emery's bid to link herself to his party despite any resolution in the nomination question.

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Liberals reject high-profile pot activist's bid to run in Vancouver East

Talk show host Bill Maher blasted liberals on Friday for using extreme bullying techniques to define free speech as speech that doesnt offend them.

Following the recent terrorist attack at French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Mr. Maher came out against conservatives like Bill Donohue who called he says called him an anti-catholic bigot so many times its now my ringtone, but said he was far more troubled by liberals who cannot tolerate speech that challenges their ideas. Mr. Maher then referred to groups that petition to have conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh taken off the airwaves.

Yeah liberals hate bullying all right, but theyre not opposed to using it, Mr. Maher said in a video posted by Mediaite. When they casually throw out words like bigot and racist it does cow people into avoiding this debate, and if youre doing that, you dont get to wear the Je suis Charlie button, the button you should wear says Je suis part of the problem.

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Mr. Maher said that to Muslims who love their religion and might be offended by people insulting Islam, that he feels the same way about marijuana.

Say you are Muslim. And you love love love you some Islam. Its what uplifts you and inspires you and you cant imagine your life without it or why everyone else doesnt love it too. Believe me I get that, thats how I feel about weed. But when someone criticizes weed, I think, good, more for me, not off with their head, said the Real Time host, Mediaite reported.

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Bill Maher: Liberal 'bullying' on Islam debate makes them 'part of the problem'

Canadians know Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's father, Pierre, was the country's 15th prime minister. His grandfather, James Sinclair, was also a B.C. Liberal MP from 1940 to 1958 and a former minister of fisheries and oceans. But Trudeau is not the only current MP to follow in the footsteps of a family member all the way to the House of Commons.

Conservative Minister Maxime Bernier was first elected in 2006 in the Quebec riding of Beauce. The riding was held for years by none other than...

Gilles Bernier, Maxime's dad, represented Beauce for 13 years (1984-1997), first as a Progressive Conservative and then, briefly, as an Independent.

Peter MacKay has been an MP since 1997. He first represented the Nova Scotia riding of Pictou-Antigonish-Guysborough but, since 2004, has been the member for Central Nova. Central Nova is a riding that was held for more than 21 years by...

Elmer MacKay, Peter's dad, represented Central Nova from 1971-1983 before stepping down so that Prime Minister Brian Mulroney could (briefly) take his spot. MacKay won again in 1984 and served until his retirement in 1993.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair was first elected in a 2007 byelection in the Quebec riding of Outremont. The win marked just the second time that the NDP had won a seat in Quebec. But, more than 100 years earlier, another member of Mulcair's family represented a different Quebec riding.

Mercier, Mulcair's great-great-grandfather, was briefly a Liberal MP from 1872 to 1874 in the Quebec riding of Rouville. Mercier later went on to become the ninth premier of Quebec.

Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc was first elected in the New Brunswick riding of BeausjourPetitcodiac in 2000. It likely didn't hurt that his father was one of the most accomplished politicians in the country.

Romo LeBlanc, Dominic's dad, was a Liberal MP from 1972-1984 in the New Brunswick riding of WestmorlandKent, which was replaced by the riding his son now represents. LeBlanc was also appointed to the Senate in 1984, where he later became Speaker. And, from 1995-1999, he served as the 25th Governor General of Canada.

Liberal MP Geoff Regan was first elected in the Nova Scotia riding of Halifax West in 1993. Though he lost his bid for re-election in 1997, he returned to the House in 2000 and has been there ever since. He also served as minister of fisheries and oceans. Like Trudeau, both Regan's father and grandfather also served as Grit MPs.

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Liberals Issue Talking Points In Confidential Policy Document