Election poll shows NDP leading, Greens gaining momentum

The B.C. NDP continues to hold the lead in the election campaign, but the Greens may be the party to watch in the final week, according to a new poll on Friday.

With a week to go before the Oct. 24 election, the Angus Reid Institute poll found nearly half (49 per cent) of respondents said they'll vote B.C. NDP, followed by the B.C. Liberals at 33 per cent.

The Greens, at 14 per cent, remain in third place, according to the poll. However, the pollsters say with the Green leader's popularity surging after Tuesday's televised debate, “it is worth noting the party is the most common second choice for voters who have not yet locked in their choice.”

The NDP are the most favoured in Metro Vancouver, where 60 per cent of residents say they'll vote for the incumbents, while the Greens have support in the Vancouver Island and North Coast regions.

The Liberals have most of their support in the Interior and in the Lower Mainland/ Fraser Valley regions, according to the poll.

Among those who watched the debate or read about it and watched clips afterward, NDP Leader John Horgan was chosen as having performed the best by the largest number (29 per cent) followed by Green party Leader Sonia Furstenau, who was considered the best by 23 per cent, while 15 per cent chose B.C. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson.

When asked how appealing the leaders are, 54 per cent said Horgan was very or quite appealing, followed by 46 per cent for Furstenau and just 24 per cent for Wilkinson.

The poll suggests only opinions of Furstenau have improved overall since the start of the campaign.

The proportion of those saying they're “absolutely certain” who they'll vote for has increased from 41 per cent to 49 per cent over the last two weeks, according to Angus Reid, though half of the electorate remains less certain.

The online survey of 801 British Columbian adults was conducted Oct. 14-15 and carries a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.