The federal Conservatives' lead over the rival Liberals stands at 7.4 points, according to a new survey by EKOS.

The latest polling results, released exclusively to CBC News, found 35.2 per cent of respondents said they would vote for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives if an election were held now, compared with 27.8 per cent who said they would support Michael Ignatieff's Liberals.

Jack Layton's NDP had the support of 14.9 per cent of respondents, while 10.1 per cent said they would vote for Elizabeth May's Green Party. Support for the Bloc Quebecois, led by Gilles Duceppe, was at 8.8 per cent.

Support for the Conservatives moved up from the last time EKOS surveyed Canadians in February, when they had a five-point lead over the Liberals. In that survey, 32.4 per cent of respondents said they would vote Conservative compared to 27.3 per cent prepared to vote Liberal.

The survey of 2,892 people was conducted between Feb. 24 and March 8. The margin of error associated with the sample is +/-1.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

EKOS described the Conservatives' lead over the Liberals as "clear but modest," and said the results show the electorate has "moved into a pretty stable wait-and-see mode."

The Conservatives could face defeat in the House of Commons soon after the March 22 budget if they don't get the support of one of the opposition parties. But the Liberals, who have indicated they will not vote in favour of the budget, have also hinted at moving a non-confidence motion, meaning an election trigger could come even before a vote on the budget.

Significant in the latest EKOS poll results is growing support for the Conservatives in Ontario.

"Apart from the overall national lead, the most notable drift that we have seen over the past several polls is that the Conservatives are now significantly ahead in vote-rich Ontario," the EKOS analysis said. "This is a very significant and fairly newfound advantage for the Conservatives."

Conservative support stands at 41 per cent in Ontario, according to the poll, with the Liberals at 34 per cent. The NDP support is at 14.4 per cent in the province.

The Liberals maintain a lead in Atlantic Canada and have a "small but significant lead" over the Conservatives in Quebec, another key battleground during elections. The NDP, however, is catching up in Quebec and could be poised for a breakthrough, according to EKOS.