OTTAWA — A new national poll suggests Conservatives and Liberals remain deadlocked with neither party able to muster more than lukewarm levels of public support.

The latest Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey suggests the Liberals had 32 per cent support to the Conservatives' 31 per cent, which is a statistical tie given the poll's 3.1-percentage-point margin of error.

The NDP were at 15 per cent and the Greens at 12 per cent.

In Quebec, the Bloc Quebecois was ahead with 35 per cent, while the Liberals and Conservatives were tied at 21 per cent, the NDP had 11 per cent and the Greens 10 per cent.

In Ontario, the Liberals were in the lead with 40 per cent, followed by the Conservatives at 33 per cent, the Greens at 13 per cent and the NDP at 12 per cent.

The telephone poll of just over 1,000 people was conducted April 3-6, amid the furor surrounding the release of a 1991 videotape in which Tory MP Tom Lukiwski uttered a vulgar, anti-gay slur.

The poll also suggests that Conservatives have taken a hit recently among older voters, older women in particular.

The Tories enjoyed a 10-point lead among voters over the age of 50 through much of last fall but that lead has shrunk to two or three points now. Among women over 50, the Liberals have pulled into a significant lead.

"The last few weeks have not been particularly good ones for the Conservative party," said Harris-Decima president Bruce Anderson.

"They are struggling to capture and hold attention to an agenda."

Anderson said the softening economy and the recent dispute between federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Premier Dalton McGuinty over the management of Ontario's struggling economy have "contributed to yet another situation where just as it looked like the Conservatives were fully competitive with the Liberals in Ontario, something happens to shift the direction of public opinion."

The news is only marginally better for the Liberals.

"For the Liberals, the numbers continue to signal a brand that is more competitive than it was but not yet fully appealing," Anderson said.

The Liberals have been coping with their own troubles lately, facing more internecine sniping in Quebec and ridicule from political opponents over their refusal to bring down the minority Tory government.