(EKOS)

The federal Conservatives continue to hold a 10-point lead — stable for nearly one month — over the Liberals, a new EKOS poll suggests.

The poll, commissioned by the CBC and released Thursday, suggests the Conservatives would have the support of 36.9 per cent of eligible voters and the Liberals 27.1 per cent.

The NDP would follow at 15.3 per cent, the Green Party at 11.4 per cent and the Bloc Québécois at 9.4 per cent, according to the poll.

While the Conservatives continued to hold the lead in voter support, approval of the government's direction dropped among those polled in the last week.

EKOS conducted the poll between Nov. 11 and Nov. 24.

Conservatives popular with older voters

Conservative support was strongest among respondents 45 years and older, especially among those at least 65 years old (48 per cent). Conservative support among seniors was twice that of respondents under 25 years (21 per cent).

Younger groups (under 25 and age 25 to 44) who were surveyed showed more mixed voting intentions, and no individual party stood out, EKOS found.

Although the Liberals were at their most popular among certain regions and groups, the party still came out on par or behind the Conservatives when respondents were asked which party they'd vote for if an election were held that day.

Generally, the Liberals had proportionately more support among the university-educated, those born outside Canada, and women, although this support has been smaller in recent months, the poll suggests.

Regionally, the Conservatives led the survey in all provinces from Ontario to the West Coast, but were on par with the Liberals in Quebec and in the Atlantic provinces.

New Democratic Party support was strongest in B.C, and among women. For the Green Party, support was also higher among respondents in B.C., as well as among Canadians under 25, the poll found.

Fewer approve direction

For the last six months, opinion of the government's direction was generally more positive than negative. But those polled in the last week were split on whether they thought the government was moving in the right direction or the wrong direction.

If this change in perception holds in the coming weeks, there could be changes in voting intentions, EKOS said.

EKOS surveyed 5,759 Canadians from across the country over the age of 18. It's one 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 1.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.