A new poll shows the B.C. Conservatives pulling ahead of the B.C. NDP, two days after Premier David Eby declared a snap election.
The Angus Reid Institute poll released Thursday found the Conservatives, led by interim leader Lorne Doerkson, had the support of 43 per cent of decided and leaning voters, compared with 35 per cent for Eby’s NDP.
Ten days earlier, the NDP were four points ahead of the Conservatives.
Twelve per cent of voters favoured the B.C. Greens, while 10 per cent supported other parties, including OneBC and CentreBC.
Angus Reid said Eby could be facing some backlash over the decision to call an election just two years after British Columbians last went to the polls.
More than 60 per cent of the province said it’s “too soon” to hold an election, including more than half of NDP voters.
Nearly two-thirds of voters said Eby is putting staying in power over the province’s interests.
The poll found that 65 per cent of those who voted for the NDP in 2024 said they would do the same this fall. Meanwhile, 85 per cent of past Conservative voters would vote for the party again.
The polling organization said, while Conservatives may be in the lead among decided voters, there was a significant amount of uncertainty with the vote still one month away. It found 20 per cent of respondents were not sure which party they would vote for.
The election call came after a period of turmoil for the Conservatives. There was an exodus of 13 MLAs under leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay, including three who were kicked out of the caucus.
Findlay resigned last Sunday and the caucus has reunited under Doerkson. The party says he would become permanent leader if the Conservatives form government.
But the poll shows that Doerkson is still relatively unknown to voters, with 40 per cent saying they don’t know enough to have an opinion about him.
Meanwhile, a little over 60 per cent of voters view Eby unfavorably, and one third said they have a positive impression of him.
Three-in-five British Columbians said they were not enthusiastic about voting on Oct. 24, though Conservative supporters were more likely than NDP supporters to say they were very enthusiastic about voting.
Eby has said Canada is facing “existential” threats from the Trump administration, and an election is needed to give British Columbians a voice in how government responds to that threat.
Michael MacKenzie, professor of political studies at Vancouver Island University and Jarislowky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership, says there is a real risk that calling an early election will backfire on the NDP.
“They are asking us to go to the polls only halfway through their mandate. All of the issues Eby has been taking about, like protecting Canadian sovereignty and B.C.’s economy, he already had a mandate to deal with these things,” said MacKenzie.
“The reasons he’s giving to go to election I don’t think are going to be taken as credible by a lot of voters, so there is real possibility that there will be backlash,” he said.
The B.C. Conservatives have criticizes the timing of the election as “cynical” and “opportunistic.”
Hamish Telford, associate professor of political science at the University of the Fraser Valley, told Vista News the Conservatives should focus on issues important to British Columbians, like the impacts of the U.S.-Canada trade war, rather than stoking anger over the timing of the election.
“I think they have to put that behind them. What’s done is done,” said Telford. “The premier’s given them an opportunity to demonstrate to British Columbians that they’re ready to govern.”
“They have to avoid getting sidetracked in populist culture war sorts of issues,” he said.
Doerkson said Tuesday that repealing B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, commonly known as DRIPA, would be a top priority for a Conservative government.
The 2019 legislation establishes a framework for the provincial government to bring B.C. laws into alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
