BC Liberal Premier Christy Clark and NDP leader Adrian Dix are seen in this composite image.
A full half of B.C. voters plan to cast their ballots for the NDP in the next provincial election, according to a new poll that suggests the party would even stand to beat a hypothetical “free enterprise coalition” of Liberals and Conservatives.
The online survey, conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion, indicates that support for the New Democrats has only grown stronger since their two byelection victories last month, hiking seven per cent since the previous poll in late March.
Support for the BC Liberals remained stagnant at 23 per cent, however, while the Conservatives’ support dropped by four points to 19 per cent.
The survey, which polled 802 adults in the province last week, also suggests the Green Party is in line for another disappointing election next year in 2013, receiving support from just six per cent of respondents. If the poll proves prescient, the next election will mark the third in a row that the party failed to garner double digits.
The poll also suggests the NDP would hold its base of support — roughly a third of voters — against a centre-right coalition such as the one recently proposed by Premier Christy Clark. But none of the suggested alternatives, including coalitions led by either Clark, Conservative leader John Cummins or Finance Minister Kevin Falcon, proved to be an appealing option for those polled.
Still, 34 per cent of voters said they would take a “wait and see” approach if presented with the new alternative.
Angus Reid says support for the NDP is reaching across gender lines and throughout all regions of the province. The party claimed particularly high numbers in the North (61 per cent), on Vancouver Island (52 per cent) and in Metro Vancouver (49 per cent) in the latest survey. In the Interior, 48 per cent of those polled said they’d vote for the New Democrats, whereas Liberals support reached only a disparagingly-low 18 per cent.
Forty-five per cent of male respondents said they would vote NDP, compared to 28 per cent for the Liberals. The poll also found there were three women who’d vote for the New Democrats’ Adrian Dix for every one who supports Christy Clark.
As for age, the NDP is now the preferred choice for three in five voters between the ages of 18 and 34 years.
