Liberals back on top in new Nanos poll

The Liberals have surged back to the top spot, followed by the NDP, in the latest Nanos Party Power Index released on Wednesday. The Conservatives trail behind in third place, but have finally put a stop to a six-week slide in the polls. The Conservative Party has recently come under fire for poorly redacted entries in Duffy's diaries that suggest that suspended Senator Mike Duffy was connecting with Enbridge during the Northern Gateway pipeline hearings.

The index put the Liberals at 57 out of a possible 100 points, followed by the NDP at 52 points, and the Conservatives at 51 points.

The Green Party, meanwhile, is at 34 points, and the Bloc Québecois sits at 26 points (in Québec only).

The Nanos Party Power Index is based on questions around voting preferences, views on the preferred prime minister, and evaluations of party leaders. A random telephone survey is conducted with live agents, reaching out to 1,000 Canadians aged 18 and over. The sample is geographically stratified to be representative of Canada, and the latest results reflect research conducted over the four week period ending on April 24.

When asked who they would support for prime minister, 30 per cent of respondents supported Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, followed by Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper at 29 per cent. NDP leader Mulcair got 21 per cent. Five per cent supported the Green Party's Elizabeth May. Fourteen per cent said they were undecided.

In response to questions around which parties Canadians would consider voting for, 51 per cent said they would consider voting Liberal while 46 per cent would consider voting NDP. Just 39 per cent would consider voting Conservative, while 30 per cent would consider voting for the Greens.

While male voters were more likely to vote either Liberal or Conservative, female voters showed slightly higher support for the Liberal and NDP parties.