When interpreting the results of the CBC/Environics poll on a CBC panel last Thursday, the Toronto Star's Chantal Hebert was struck by how close the Liberals and NDP were. In this column, she examines what that could mean.

An excerpt:

The latest polls hint that it could stand to triple its current standings in the House.

Any surge in NDP support could have profound consequences on the outcome of the next election.

Here is a sample:

A Liberal rout and a majority Conservative government: In some areas of Canada, an increase in NDP support at the expense of the Liberals opens the way to more Tory wins.

A minority Conservative government with either the Bloc or the NDP or both holding the balance of power.

(Given the election math in Quebec, that is a more likely outcome than the first hypothesis.)

A Liberal-NDP coalition government.

That last notion is not on very many radar screen these days, yet it is less farfetched than the notion of a Conservative-Bloc alliance.

A left-of-centre coalition government in a Parliament where the like-minded Bloc Québécois would be heavily represented would probably have a longer shelf life than a right-wing minority government with little or no representation from Quebec. It might put less strain on national unity.

What is increasingly certain is that the next federal election — whether it comes within a few weeks or months — will likely lead to a more fractured Parliament.