Poll finds BC NDP, Conservatives tied at campaign midway point

The first few weeks of the B.C. election campaign have seen no political party significantly pull ahead, a new poll by Research Co. has found.

The findings released on Friday show 45 per cent of decided voters polled say they would vote for the BC NDP, while 44 per cent would cast their ballot for the Conservatives. The BC Greens are in third position, with nine per cent of those surveyed set to cast their vote for that party.

Research Co. says the race between the two leading parties has “tightened across all regions.” The NDP holds pole position in Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island, while the Conservatives lead in the Fraser Valley, southern B.C., and Northern B.C.

“By a 2-to-1 margin, voters who supported the BC Liberals under Andrew Wilkinson in the 2020 provincial election are choosing the BC Conservatives (61%) over the BC NDP (32%),” explained Mario Canseco, Research Co. president. “The retention rate for the BC New Democrats is 72%, while the BC Greens are holding on to 47% of their voters from the last provincial ballot.”

Research Co. surveyed 801 voters in B.C. between Sept. 30 and Oct. 2.

The pollster says the NDP remains the most popular political party for women in the province, and those aged 55 and over, with men preferring the Conservatives. Voters aged 18 to 34 also prefer the Conservatives, the company found.

“There was little fluctuation in the approval ratings of the three party leaders. More than half of likely voters (52%, +1) are satisfied with the performance of Premier and BC NDP leader David Eby. The numbers are lower for BC Conservative leader John Rustad (45%, -3) and BC Greens leader Sonia Furstenau (42%, +1),” the polling agency shared Friday.

“All three party leaders post negative momentum scores: -3 for Rustad (with 30% of likely voters saying their views on the BC Conservative leader have worsened since the start of the campaign) and -2 for both Furstenau and Eby.”

Meanwhile, when asked who would make the “best premier of B.C.,” Eby leads with 40 per cent of the vote, Rustad in second place with 35 per cent, and 12 per cent believe Furstenau to be the best.

“On this question, Eby reaches 43% in Metro Vancouver, while Rustad’s best showing is in Southern BC (37%),” Research Co. added.

The provincial election is set for Oct. 19, with advance voting beginning on Oct. 10.