(EKOS)

Popular support for the ruling federal Conservative Party has slipped following two weeks above 33 per cent, a new EKOS tracking poll suggests.

When asked who they would support if an election were to be held tomorrow, 31.7 per cent of respondents said they would back the Conservatives, while the Liberals remain stuck in the mid-20s with 26.2 per cent.

Support for the NDP is at 17.4 per cent, while the Green Party has 11.5 per cent, and the Bloc Québécois 10.3 per cent, says the poll, which was released exclusively to CBC News.

The EKOS poll is based on a random sample of 2,827 Canadians aged 18 and over between May 26 and June 1. The margin of error associated with the total sample is plus or minus 1.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Consistent with past weeks, 49.2 per cent of Canadians polled say the country is moving in the right direction and 39.1 per cent say it's moving in the wrong direction. Conservative supporters, residents of Alberta, and men are most likely to agree the country is moving in the right direction, pollsters said.

Also consistent with last week, 38.9 per cent of Canadians said the government is moving in the right direction, while 48 per cent of respondents believe it is moving in the wrong direction.

Only Conservative supporters are happy with the direction of the government. Almost 75 per cent of Conservative Party supporters said the government was going in the right direction, according to the poll.

Dissatisfaction with the government's direction is most intense among supporters of the Bloc Québécois, at 78.8 per cent, and among NDP backers, at 66.5 per cent. Liberal supporters and Green Party supporters express similar levels of dissatisfaction at roughly 57 per cent.