Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is marginally ahead of NDP Leader Tom Mulcair as preferred prime minister, with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau remaining firmly in third, in the latest leadership survey by Nanos Research for CTV and The Globe and Mail.

According to results released on Thursday:

31.2 per cent of respondents would prefer Conservative Leader Stephen Harper as prime minister

28. 1 per cent would prefer NDP Leader Tom Mulcair

24. 6 per cent would prefer Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau

6.2 per cent would prefer Green Leader Elizabeth May

8.4 per cent were unsure

Voters were asked: “Of the current federal political party leaders, could you please rank your top two current local preferences for Prime Minister?”

In the Nanos party power index, which is a basket of political goods including vote preferences and views of the leaders, the NDP scored 53.3 out of a possible 100 points, the Liberals scores 52. 9 points, the Conservatives scored 49. 7 points, the Greens scored 30.3 points and the Bloc Quebecois with 27.5 points.

Survey methodology:

A national dual-frame (land and cell) random telephone survey is conducted nightly by Nanos Research throughout the campaign using live agents. Each evening, a new group of 400 eligible voters are interviewed. The daily tracking figures are based on a three-day rolling sample comprising 1,200 interviews. To update the tracking, a new day of interviewing is added and the oldest day dropped.

The margin of error for a survey of 1,200 respondents is ±2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. This margin varies for subpopulations, such as supporters for respective leaders.

Full survey at Nanos Research

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