A new poll indicates that the Quebec Liberals are experiencing a bump in support days after naming Charles Milliard as leader, as debate heats up about a possible independence referendum ahead of the fall general election.

Polling by Pallas Data published Wednesday for Qc125 and L’Actualité shows the Parti Québécois leading with 30 per cent support, slightly ahead of the Liberals at 27.

Compared to the company’s previous poll on Jan. 10, the new data represents a four-point drop for the PQ and a three-point rise for the Liberals, who acclaimed Milliard as leader on Feb. 13.

Conducted on Feb. 21-22 among 1,075 adult Quebecers, the poll has a margin of error of three per cent, 19 times out of 20. It also indicates a three-point drop in support for Quebec sovereignty, at 32 per cent.

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Milliard said Wednesday that he and his party will be ready to lead the “no” camp ahead of a referendum on Quebec sovereignty, if one takes place. And there will be one by 2030 if the Parti Québécois wins the October election, leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has promised.

“If by chance there was a bus from the no camp to drive, the only person with a driver’s license to lead that group safely and reliably to its destination is me,” Milliard said. “It’s the Quebec Liberal Party.”

Parti Québécois legislature member Alex Boissonneault downplayed the survey results, noting, “a poll — it’s a snapshot of a precise moment in the political context.”

The results were published after the Parti Québécois on Monday won a fourth consecutive byelection with a convincing win in Chicoutimi, north of Quebec City. The Conservative candidate came in second, the Coalition Avenir Québec in third and the Liberal candidate a distant fourth.

St-Pierre Plamondon said in his post-election remarks that a referendum would not happen immediately, and its timing would depend on the political situation in the United States.

The Pallas poll indicated the Conservative Party of Quebec sat in third place in voting intentions with 16 per cent support, followed by the governing Coalition Avenir Québec at 14 per cent and Québec solidaire with 10 per cent.

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