OTTAWA, Jan. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- The double digital lead of Canada's Conservatives over the Liberals has shrank, a new poll suggested on Thursday.

    The Conservatives have dropped from an 18-point national lead earlier this week to a 9-point lead now, according to interviews conducted Jan. 17 and 18 by the Strategic Counsel for Canadian Television and The Globe and Mail.

    The tracking poll of 1,000 Canadians showed that the Liberals' supporting rate has gained four points to 28 percent, with that ofthe Tories losing five points to 37 percent.

    The New Democratic Party (NDP) got the support of 16 percent, while the Bloc Quebecois got 12 percent, and the Green Party 7 percent.

    After Christmas, Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberal Party, which has kept a narrow lead at the beginning of the campaign, hasbeen steadily drifting down in the polls.

    Commentators say the main factor in the latest changes appears to have been the Liberal strategic ads, which have been airing nowon television for more than a week. Enditem