A majority of Canadians support the way the government has handled the swine-flu issue, according to a new poll.

The Ekos poll, commissioned for the CBC and released Thursday, suggests that 52 per cent of respondents said they support the government's response to the outbreak of the virus, compared to 31 per cent who disapprove.

Seventeen per cent said they did not know or refused to respond.

Not surprisingly, support for the government on the issue was strongest among those people who intend to vote for the Tories. Support was also strongest among people living in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba compared to other regions.

EKOS conducted the poll between July 22 and 28, surveying 3,713 Canadians from across the country over the age of 18. It's the eighth in a series of weekly polls conducted by EKOS and released by CBC News.

The margin of error for a survey of this size is plus or minus 1.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. But the margin of error increases among sub-groups.

Fifty-eight people have died from swine flu in Canada.

The results come as federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced on Wednesday that she believes the pandemic vaccine should be ready in time for the provinces and territories to start immunization campaigns by late fall.

A majority of Canadians support the way the government has handled the swine-flu issue, according to a new poll.