The latest poll numbers from EKOS. (EKOS)The Conservatives are maintaining a slight lead over the Liberal Party, although fewer Canadians believe the country is headed in the right direction, a new poll suggests.

An EKOS survey, 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 the Conservatives, while 27 per cent would vote for the Liberals.

According to the poll, the NDP garnered 16 per cent of overall support, while the Green Party had 12.7 per cent. The Bloc Québécois followed with 9 per cent.

The results are little changed from those published a week earlier, which showed support for the Conservatives at 33.1 per cent.

The Liberals lost 0.7 percentage points from the week before when they had 27.7 per cent of the overall support. This continues a seven-week slide from the year's high of 31.1 per cent in EKOS results released on Jan. 28.

The Green Party gained 2.3 percentage points from last week's poll results.

As in previous weeks, support for the Conservatives was strongest in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, while the party was neck and neck with the Liberals in British Columbia.

Canadians were also asked if they believed the country was moving in the right direction. According to the survey, 41.9 per cent of respondents showed support for the country's direction, a 2.3 per cent drop from last week's results. Conservative supporters were most likely to say the country is heading in the right direction, at 83.3 per cent.

EKOS found that 45.4 per cent of respondents believed the country was moving in the wrong direction. More than two-thirds of NDP and Bloc Québécois supporters said they feel the government is headed in the wrong direction.

Among the men surveyed, 47 per cent were satisfied with the country's direction, compared with 37.2 per cent of women. Slightly more than 48 per cent of women disagreed with the country's direction.

The random survey of 2,162 Canadians aged 18 and over was conducted March 24 to 30 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.