New Democrat Adrian Dix appears poised to take the reins of the B.C. government, according to a poll released just hours before Election Day.

The Angus Reid Public Opinion survey found the NDP had maintained Friday’s nine-point advantage over the BC Liberals, garnering 45 per cent support compared to the Liberals’ 36 per cent.

Pollster Mario Canseco said the party’s ability to retain voters from the 2009 election, as well as snatch a few away from the Liberals, may have paved the way for a new government.

“We see the NDP with a retention rate of 83 per cent, so most of the voters who voted for them under Carole James are going to vote for them under Adrian Dix,” Canseco said.

The Liberals, on the other hand, have been struggling with a 66 or 67 per cent retention rate for months.

“They’re still losing a third of their voters to other parties, including 16 per cent to the NDP, and that is the number that’s going to hurt them on election night.”

Seven per cent of respondents said they intended to vote Conservative, followed by three per cent who favoured the Greens.

The poll was conducted using actual ballots from respondents’ ridings, so many would be unable to pick Green or Conservative even if they wanted to.

Twenty-eight per cent of respondents said Dix would make the best Premier, a drop of two per cent since last week. Clark remained at 25 per cent, creating a statistical tie with the opposition frontrunner, followed by the Greens’ Jane Sterk at seven per cent and Conservative Leader John Cummins at five.

The election isn’t over though, and Canseco said rallying the youth vote on Tuesday could be essential to a sweeping NDP victory. While the Liberals and New Democrats received comparable support from voters aged 35 and up, the opposition garnered more than twice as much support among voters aged 18 to 34.

“The key to the NDP to sustain this momentum is to make sure that all of the younger people decide and remember to vote,” Canseco said.

Voting begins at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.

With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Ed Watson