EKOSEKOS

Support for the federal Liberal party has sunk to its lowest level in more than a year with the Conservatives taking a 10-point lead over their political rivals, a new EKOS opinion poll suggests.

The poll, released exclusively to CBC, suggests that 34.4 per cent of respondents would vote for the Tories if an election were held today, compared with 23.9 per cent for the Liberals.

In recent weeks, the Liberals had narrowed the Tory lead to three to four percentage points. But over the past week, the Liberals have taken a nearly seven-point drop in support.

According to the poll, the Conservative Party is leading in every region except for Quebec and in Atlantic Canada, where they are tied with the Liberals, who are losing ground in some key areas and not leading in any region.

In Ontario, the Liberals are 13 percentage points behind the Tories, where they had previously been on par or slightly ahead.

The Liberals' numbers fell as Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been in the spotlight of late as host of the G8/G20 summits in Huntsville, Ont., and Toronto and attending events with Queen Elizabeth during her trip to Canada.

The drop in support comes as Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is set to embark on a cross-Canada "Liberal Express" summer bus tour. Harper plans to spend his summer at Harrington Lake, the official country residence of the prime minister.

Support for the New Democratic Party, the Green Party, and the Bloc Québécois has remained stable over the past few weeks with the NDP at 17.9 per cent, the Green Party at 11.2 per cent, and the Bloc at 10.5 per cent, the poll suggested.

The random survey of 1,166 Canadians aged 18 and over was conducted June 30 to July 6 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.