Prime Minister Stephen Harper, left, attends a riding association barbecue in Calgary, while Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, centre, and NDP Leader Jack Layton take in events at the Calgary Stampede. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)

The Liberals and Conservatives remain in a virtual dead heat as politicians hit the road for the summer season of community barbecues, markets and fairs, a new EKOS poll suggests.

The poll, commissioned for the CBC and released Thursday, asked the following question: "If a federal election were held tomorrow, which party would you vote for?"

The responses suggest 32.2 per cent would choose Liberal, while 31.8 per cent would vote for the Conservatives.

The NDP followed with 16 per cent of overall support, while the Green party had 10.7 per cent. The Bloc Québécois had 9.3 per cent.

According to the poll, 17.6 per cent of Canadian voters are undecided.

Perhaps buoyed by the recent New Democratic Party victory in Nova Scotia's provincial election, the federal NDP seems to be on the rise in Atlantic Canada, the poll suggests, although the sample size is small. (133 people were surveyed and the margin of error is plus or minus 8.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20).

While the poll suggests the Liberals are the first choice of voters in the Atlantic provinces, with 35.1 per cent, the NDP comes in second with 29.6 per cent. The Conservatives are next at 26.8 per cent, while the Greens — the only major federal party with a leader who ran in the region — had 8.5 per cent of the vote.

Across the country, the Conservatives continue to have strong support among voters aged 65 and over, drawing 44.6 per cent support, the poll suggests. The Liberals followed with 34.2 per cent. The NDP came in third at 10.9 per cent, while the Green party and Bloc Québécois garnered 5.2 and 5.1 per cent respectively.

EKOS conducted the poll between June 30 and July 7, 2009, surveying 3,088 Canadians from across the country over the age of 18. It's the sixth in a series of weekly polls conducted by EKOS and released by CBC News.

The margin of error for this survey is plus or minus 1.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

(EKOS)