A good chunk of the lead the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives have in recent polling data comes from a group that historically has supported the NDP.

Women overwhelmingly support the PCs, according to a new survey by Probe Research Inc. The poll was commissioned by CTV Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Free Press.

According to the new poll, support for the PCs among women outpaces support for the NDP by almost a third: 42 per cent versus 28 per cent.

The PCs lead in almost all other demographic areas as well. Older voters continue to make up the largest portion of PC supporters (51 per cent of people 55 and over), they also lead among people aged 35-54 (43 per cent) and 18-34 (44 per cent).

An equal number of younger voters (18-34) support the Liberals and NDP, at 26 per cent each, while 28 per cent and 20 per cent of voters aged 35-54 support the NDP and Liberals, respectively.

Other traditional PC supporters continue to support the party, including people whose households earn more than $100,000 a year (51 per cent) and people who have no post-secondary education (52 per cent).

Among those with a university or college degree, 42 per cent support the PCs versus 31 per cent for the NDP. People whose households earn less than $30,000 support the PCs by a margin of 14 percentage points over the NDP (38 per cent versus 24 per cent).

That gap widens among the next-lowest income group, with 48 per cent of voters earning $30,000-$59,000 supporting the PC, versus 22 per cent for the NDP.