A new public opinion poll shows the BC NDP and the Conservative Party remain close with just days left in the provincial election campaign.
Province wide, the BC NDP hold a five-point lead with 45 per cent of decided voters, and the BC Conservatives are at 40 per cent.
The Angus Reid Institute polled more than 2-thousand-800 British Columbians in the five days after the televised leaders debate on October 8th.
Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau’s debate performance was well-received, while Conservative Leader John Rustad may have been dragged down by his. A majority (63%) of those who watched the debate, or the post-debate analysis, believe Rustad performed poorly. Furstenau is viewed by three-in-10 (31%) as having performed ‘very well,’ but this failed to translate into meaningful vote momentum for the Green Party. A majority of respondents praised NDP leader David Eby (63%).
The poll finds the Conservatives’ support is strongest among men older than 34, but the party suffers from a significant gap among women, with half saying they will vote for the NDP. ARI says a majority of younger men and women, the largest cohort of voters in BC, support the New Democrats.
On the question of who they believe would be best overall for their household, 36 per cent say the BC NDP and Eby, and 34 per cent say the BC Conservatives and Rustad.
However, when asked who the worst would be for their household, 45 per cent say the BC Conservative Party would be worst overall, and one-quarter (24%) say the same of the NDP.
The Angus Reid Institute says hundreds of thousands of voters have already locked in their intentions at advance polls with just a few days left for the parties to persuade the undecided and convince them to get out to vote.
The advance polls re-opened today after Thanksgiving Monday and Elections BC reports 596,755 voters cast ballots in the first four days of advance voting, which began on Thursday.
The highest turnouts during the first four days on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast were in Courtenay-Comox, where 11,965 people cast ballots, and in the new riding of Ladysmith-Oceanside with 11,519 advance votes cast from Thursday to Sunday.
Elsewhere:
North Island: 7,626
Powell River-Sunshine Coast: 6,923
Cowichan Valley: 6,747
Juan de Fuca-Malahat: 7,417
Nanaimo-Gabriola: 8,431
Nanaimo-Lantzville: 9,274
Mid Island-Pacific Rim: 7,591
Advance voting in the 2024 provincial election will wrap up on Wednesday.
