The Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is sailing along with 37 per cent support, a poll finds.

In fact, if you take the entire poll's findings together, pollster Tim Woolstencroft of The Strategic Counsel told CTV.ca on Wednesday that he wouldn't be surprised if an early election were called.

The poll, conducted between July 13 and 15 for CTV and The Globe and Mail, found the following support levels for the main parties (percentage-point change from a June 7-8 poll in brackets):

• Conservatives - 37 per cent (+1)
• Liberals - 26 per cent (-1)
• NDP - 18 per cent (-1)
• Bloc Quebecois - 11 per cent (+2)
• Green - 9 per cent (+1)

The question asked referred to which party's candidate the respondent would likely vote for if an election were held tomorrow. There were 1,000 respondents, and the margin of error was 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

In other good news for the Conservatives, 61 per cent of respondents think the country is on the right track.

Sixty-seven per cent approve of the government's performance, and 38 per cent think the government is performing better than expected.

Just over half the respondents thought U.S.-Canada relations have improved. Fifty-seven per cent said that was a good thing, while 34 per cent said it was a bad thing.

But Woolstencroft noted there are areas of political risk for the Conservatives.

The Harper government has tied itself quite closely to the Afghanistan mission. Yet in this poll, 56 per cent of people say they oppose the decision to send Canadian troops to Afghanistan -- a 12-point increase over June. Thirty-nine per cent of respondents support the decision.

Asked how people thought the Afghanistan mission was going, 35 per cent said as expected, 12 per cent said better than expected, and 48 per cent said worse than expected.

Twenty-one per cent said Canada should stay in Afghanistan as long as is necessary. Another 34 per cent said a two-year maximum, and 41 per cent said bring the troops home now.

On issues the top five are (percentage-point change from a Jan. 4-5 poll in brackets):

• Health care - 20 per cent (-5)
• Environment - 12 per cent (+8)
• Gov't leadership/stability - 7 per cent (-1)
• Terrorism (including Afghanistan) - 7 per cent (+6)
• Economic issues (excluding government spending/unemployment) - 6 per cent (unchanged)

Woolstencroft said the rise in the environment as an issue of concern caught his eye. He suggested it might be tied to the Conservatives' handling of the climate change file.

When The Strategic Counsel last asked the question in January, crime was the priority for 10 per cent of respondents, whereas it's only three per cent in the current poll. Woolstencroft said the questioning in January was done shortly after a very high-profile shooting in downtown Toronto. A teenage girl, Jane Creba, died during a shopping trip when a gun battle broke out between street thugs.

Woolstencroft noted what a difference a year makes in terms of priorities for Canadians. Here were the top three from June 2005 (the August 2005 number for that issue is in brackets):

• Gov't leadership/stability - 18 per cent (7 per cent)
• Health care - 15 per cent (16 per cent)
• Sponsorship/Gomery - 11 per cent (2 per cent)

The biggest news story in the country right now is the evacuation of Canadian citizens from Lebanon. The Harper government has come in for some criticism for how it's handled the crisis. Woolstencroft said that likely wouldn't show up in this poll.