A new Angus Reid Institute poll found the B.C. Conservatives five points ahead of the B.C. NDP nearly two weeks into the provincial election campaign.
The poll released Monday found both parties had increased their support since Premier David Eby called a snap election on Sept. 22, while voters had become more certain about their ballot choices.
It said the Conservatives had the support of 48 per cent of decided and leaning voters.
That was up more than 10 points from mid-September, when the party was in the midst of a leadership crisis.
The NDP had 43 per cent support, up from 35 per cent in the days just after the election call.
Vote intention for the B.C. Greens fell from a recent high of 13 per cent last month, to seven per cent.
The poll suggests the NDP may struggle to retain voters. It said a quarter of people who voted for the NDP in 2024 say they are either undecided or plan to switch their support to the Conservatives or Greens.
It found that 46 per cent of voters said they were “very certain” about which party they would vote for, but Conservatives were much more likely to say they were certain than NDP supporters.
The poll shows Lorne Doerkson has made some strides in introducing himself to voters, after taking over as Conservative interim leader less than two days before the election call.
One-quarter of B.C. voters said they don’t know enough about Doerksen to form an opinion, down from 40 per cent on Sept. 24.
Opinions were split among the remainder, with 38 per cent viewing him favourably and 38 per cent unfavourably.
As for Eby, 58 per cent said they have an unfavourable view of him, and fewer than two-in-five were positive.
Doerkson holds a narrow lead on the question of who would make the best premier with 36 per cent, compared with 33 per cent for Eby.
