The Liberals and Conservatives are in a virtual tie with voters, says an EKOS poll.The Liberals and Conservatives are in a virtual tie with voters, says an EKOS poll. The Liberals have regained some support among voters and are now in a virtual tie with the Conservatives despite Prime Minister Stephen Harper's swift response to the Haiti quake, an EKOS poll suggests.

It marks the first time the Liberals have drawn so close to the governing party since late summer.

EKOS poll

Asked which party they would support if an election were held tomorrow, 30.9 per cent of those polled chose the Liberals and 31.5 per cent backed the Conservatives.

The poll found 14.9 per cent of respondents supporting the NDP, 11.5 per cent the Green Party and 9.1 per cent the Bloc Québécois.

"The Liberals continued to edge upward this week despite Stephen Harper's adroit response to the disaster in Haiti, which dominated the news, obliterating the vexatious issues of prorogation and the treatment of Afghan detainees," said EKOS president Frank Graves.

"However, public opinion sometimes lags the news by a few days," Graves said, adding that it will be important to watch whether the trends are sustained.

Support for the Liberals has increased in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces and is also trending up among younger voters, new Canadians, as well as those who are university educated.

The two parties are virtually tied among women, while the Conservatives retain a narrow lead among men — a demographic group they traditionally lead by a larger margin.

In terms of the direction of the government, Canadians continue to have mixed feelings.

Forty-five per cent feel the government is moving in the right direction while an equal number, 42 per cent, believe they are moving in the wrong direction.

People in Alberta, Canadians 65 and older, and those with a high school education or less are more likely to believe the government is moving in the right direction.

Those with a university-level education are more likely to think the government is moving in the wrong direction.

The key demographic to watch are the baby boomers, who swung to the Conservatives in the last two elections, said Graves.

"Now many are defecting to the Liberals again, apparently unhappy with the Conservatives' governance style. The Conservatives still lead among this group, but their lead is much less significant than it was."