(EKOS)

The federal Conservatives and Liberals remain deadlocked, a new EKOS poll suggests, with neither party able to secure 30 per cent support from the Canadian electorate.

According to the latest results from EKOS, released exclusively to CBC News, 29.4 per cent of respondents said they would vote for the Tories if an election were held today, down from 33.9 per cent two weeks ago.

The Liberals received 28.6 per cent support, up slightly from 27.8 per cent, meaning the two parties are statistically tied.

The NDP, with 19.3 per cent support, recorded its highest level of support in more than two years of polling.

The survey also suggests that while Canadians are nearly evenly split on their short-term financial outlook, they have a more optimistic view about the long-term implications.

Around 28 per cent said that over the next year or so, their short-term personal financial situation would be worse than it is today, compared with 31 per cent who said it would be better. Thirty-eight per cent said it would be neither.

But 45 per cent said their long-term financial outlook would be better, as opposed to 20 per cent who said it would be worse.

Nearly half of Canadians felt secure in their employment. The poll found that 19 per cent of those surveyed felt there was a good chance they would lose their job over the next couple years, compared with 47 per cent who disagreed.

The poll also suggests more than half of Canadians either strongly oppose or somewhat oppose the government's plan to buy F-35 fighter jets.

The jets, with an estimated price tag of $14 billion to $16 billion, would replace Canada's fleet of CF-18s.

The poll found that 34 per cent strongly oppose the plan and 20 per cent somewhat oppose, compared to 20 per cent who strongly support and 26 per cent who somewhat support the proposed purchase.

The random telephone survey of 1,815 Canadians aged 18 and over was conducted Nov. 3-9 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.