The latest CROP poll has no early Christmas gift for the Parti Quebecois.
In fact, the numbers are Grinch-like.
Support for the PQ has dropped five percentage points to 25 per cent support since Jean-François Lisée assumed the leadership of the party in early October — however, the party gained one point in the past month.
CROP president Alain Giguère tells La Presse the PQ's decline can be attributed to committed sovereignists expressing their disappointment with Lisée's pledge to not hold a referendum in a first mandate.
The survey shows that while the PQ had 73 per cent of the sovereignist vote in October, it had had fallen to 61 per cent by this month.
The Liberals continue to lead with 38 per cent support overall. The CAQ are nipping at the PQ's heels at 23 per cent, while support for the left-wing Québec Solidaire party remains in single digits, at 9 per cent.
Meanwhile, among francophones, there's a three-way dead heat — the PQ have 29 per cent support, while the Liberals and the CAQ are tied with 28 per cent.
Those kinds of numbers would suggest the Liberals would win an election with another majority government — however, the Couillard government's approval rating remains stuck at just 40 per cent. 56 per cent say they're unsatisfied.
The poll also notes that opposition to separation has broken the 70 per cent barrier for the first time — that proportion of Quebecers told pollsters they would vote No in a third sovereignty referendum.