NDP has a comfortable lead over B.C. Liberals: poll
Despite the health care crisis and rising cost of living, the B.C. NDP enjoys a significant lead over the B.C. Liberals, a new poll shows, and there’s an indication the premier’s popularity is good news for his likely successor.
The New Democrats have had a slight decline in popularity since the 2020 election, but still have the highest level of support among respondents with 44 per cent saying they’ll vote for the governing party in the next election, according to a new Leger poll commissioned by Postmedia News.
About 28 per cent of those surveyed said they’ll vote for the B.C. Liberals, which could change their name if leader Kevin Falcon gets his way, while the B.C. Greens and B.C. Conservative party each had 12 per cent support.
“If you look at the results of the popular vote, at least through our poll here, it’s not much different than the original election back in 2020,” said Steve Mossop, executive vice-president of Leger’s Vancouver office. “So, we’ve seen the Liberals drop by a couple
points, we’ve seen the NDP maintain the status quo, which is very difficult to do for any governing party these days.”
Premier John Horgan’s popularity endures, with more British Columbians — 34 per cent of respondents — saying he had a positive affect the province than those who said he had a negative impact — 27 per cent. About 27 per cent said he had neither a positive nor negative impact.
Among those who said the premier had a positive impact, they were most happy with his performance in creating jobs and boosting the economy and in health care.
Horgan has been aggressively pushing Ottawa to increase health transfers to shore up the medical system which has been plagued with staff shortages that have temporarily closed emergency rooms and left a million British Columbians without a family doctor. So far, Ottawa has not budged, meaning it’s unlikely Horgan will be able to make that part of his legacy before he retires in the fall.
Horgan, who turns 63 in August, announced in June he would not seek a third term citing fatigue following his most recent bout with cancer. He will stay on as premier until his successor is chosen in a leadership vote that closes Dec. 3.
Mossop said despite the controversy over the Royal B.C. Museum replacement, which the premier cancelled in June after public outcry, Horgan has maintained the respect and admiration from a large swath of the public.
“It’s almost a perfect exit,” Mossop said. “The way he’s exiting, the circumstances of his exit, people really admire him.”
So far, David Eby, until recently the attorney general and housing minister, is the only contender in the race. With the support of 48 NDP MLAS and no challenger so far, it’s looking like an acclamation, which could mean British Columbians will know their premier as early as Oct. 4, which is the deadline to enter the race.
Almost two-thirds of British Columbians surveyed said they don’t know who they would like as their next premier. Among those who are decided or leaning toward voting for the NDP, 44 per cent support Eby.