Word that B.C. billionaire Jimmy Pattison will serve as a spending watchdog if the transit referendum passes has done little to sway voters, according to a new poll.

The Insights West survey found that while the “Yes” camp welcomed Pattison’s involvement, the news didn’t inspire much confidence in people already against funding billions in transportation projects with a sales tax hike.

“It’s negligible at best. It’s less than one in 20 people who are saying this is going to change my mind,” pollster Mario Canseco said.

Concerns about TransLink’s ability to implement the $7.5 billion in planned projects, which include a new Pattullo Bridge, a Broadway SkyTrain line, light rail in Surrey and others, has been a key factor in the debate, and time is running out to put those to rest.

Ballots are expected to reach homes next week, and new numbers suggest the “No” campaign is stronger than ever.

Just 33 per cent of Metro Vancouver residents plan to vote for the 0.5 per cent sales tax increase, according to the Insights survey, a drop of five per cent since February.

Meanwhile, the number of people planning to vote “No” has increased two per cent, up to 55.

Canseco said people who use public transit or bike or walk to work are more likely to support the referendum, while motorists and people who don’t have to commute are more likely to oppose it.

“They don’t want to see their taxes go higher and they just don’t see this as a solution,” Canseco said. “And they are obviously very concerned about the way TransLink operates.”

The ballots are set to reach Metro Vancouver residents on March 16, and people have until May 29 to submit their vote.

Most of the online survey was conducted from March 2-5 among 1,604 Metro Vancouver adults who are Your Insights panel members, while the Pattison questions were asked from March 6-8 among 1,179 people on the same panel.

There is a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points for the transit survey, and 2.9 percentage points for the Pattison survey.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Nafeesa Karim