Just 7 points separate BC Liberals and NDP: Poll

CTV BC: Race tightens as Liberals shrink gap The B.C. leadership horserace just got closer; with new numbers suggesting a seven point gap separates the BC Liberals and New Democrats.

The B.C. leadership horserace just got a lot closer, with new numbers suggesting just a seven point gap separates the ruling BC Liberals and New Democrats.

An Angus Reid Public Opinion poll conducted in partnership with CTV News and The Globe and Mail released Thursday found that 41 per cent of people surveyed would vote for the New Democrats if the election were held tomorrow, while BC Liberals would garner 34 per cent of the vote.

The poll shows a slide of four points for the NDP since late April, while Liberals gained three points.

The BC Greens hold 12 per cent support, a gain of two points, and the BC Conservatives have 10 per cent, dropping a point since the last survey.

Three per cent of people surveyed said they’d vote for other parties or an independent candidate in their riding.

The narrowing gap between Clark and Dix was also reflected in a similar poll released by the National Post Wednesday. The Forum Research results, which polled 1,055 B.C. residents, suggested the NDP only holds a four point lead over the Liberals, 39 per cent to 35 per cent.

The president of Forum said the NDP gradually lost their foothold in the province, shedding about a point of support each week.

The Angus Reid results show that Adrian Dix’s party still holds a steady lead above Christy Clark’s Liberals when looking at Metro Vancouver – 45 per cent versus 35 per cent. In the Southern Interior the Liberals are leading the New Democrats 42 to 29 per cent.

Pollster Mario Canseco said the approval rating for Clark saw some growth, and the Premier is now considered the best of the four party leaders to handle the economy (31 per ccent).

Canseco says the first weeks of the election campaign have seen a “rekindling” of the BC Liberal base with the current leader, proven through a retention rate that improved eight per cent in the past month.

The challenge for the BC Liberals will be to reduce the amount of 2009 voters who chose the BC Conservatives and BC NDP.

“If this number keeps falling, as it has in the past week, the gap between the two main parties among decided voters will narrow,” Canseco said.

“It would mean a much closer race than we would have predicted a few weeks ago,” he said.

British Columbians go to the polls on May 14.

Angus Reid Public Opinion surveyed 808 randomly selected B.C. residents from May 1 to 2. It claims a margin of error of +/-3.5%.