A new poll puts the BC Liberals and New Democrats neck and neck in terms of voter support, but shows Premier Christy Clark pulling way ahead when it comes to popularity.

As speculation grows that a provincial election could be held this fall, an Ipsos Reid Canada poll released today highlights a divided public opinion when it comes to leadership and government performance.

The BC Liberals captured the support of 41 per cent of decided voters – just a two-point lead over the NDP, with 39-per-cent support.

The Conservative party captured 10-per-cent support, followed by the Green Party at 8 per cent. The other 16 per cent said they have no preference.

Both the BC Liberals and NDP have seen a drop in popularity since the May 2009 election, of five and three points respectively.

Forty-seven per cent of respondents said Christy Clark makes the best premier, versus just one-in-four, or 25 per cent, for opposition leader Adrian Dix. Three-in-10 British Columbians said they were unsure about who would be the better person to run the province.

Slightly more than one-third (36 per cent) of the 1,200 British Columbians contacted between May 9 and 13 said they have a positive impression of Clark as a leader, while 22 per cent have a negative impression. But many more haven't formed an impression at all: 38 per cent said they have a neutral impression and five per cent are undecided.

The survey found that the majority of people don't have an impression about Adrian Dix, with 47 per cent feeling neutral and another 12 per cent undecided. Just two-in-10 said they have a positive impression.

Doing a good job?

Clark's leadership advantage might be slightly nullified by the disapproval rating for the reigning BC Liberals. Only one-third of people, or 35 per cent, said they approved of the government's overall performance since the May 2009 election.

Government approval is higher among men than women, with 41 and 29-per-cent ratings.

Survey respondents also told the company how they felt the B.C. government was doing on eight specific issues: economy, crime/justice, environment, education, taxes, health care, spending taxpayer money wisely and ethics/accountability.

The only issue where the BC Liberals saw a majority approval rating was economy, squeaking out 51-per-cent approval from respondents.

At the other end of the spectrum, just 21 per cent of people approve of the job the government has been doing in terms of ethics and accountability.

  • Economy – 51 per cent approve vs. 43 per cent disapprove
  • Crime/justice – 38 per cent approve vs. 53 per cent disapprove
  • Environment – 37 per cent approve vs. 53 per cent disapprove
  • Education – 32 per cent approve vs. 59 per cent disapprove
  • Taxes – 31 per cent approve vs. 64 per cent disapprove
  • Health care – 30 per cent approve vs. 65 per cent disapprove
  • Spending taxpayer money wisely – 29 per cent approve vs. 65 per cent disapprove
  • Ethics and accountability – 21 per cent approve vs. 70 per cent disapprove

Approval of 2013 Election

Voters are split about whether they'd like to have an election later this year.

Nearly half, 46 per cent, support going to the polls later this year instead of a fixed election date in May 2013, including 21 per cent who "strongly approve."

In total, 48 per cent said they don't want an election, including 28 per cent who "strongly disapprove."

Support for an election in 2011 is much higher among NDP supporters (59 per cent) than among BC Liberal supporters (35 per cent).

Ipsos Reid claims a margin of error of ±2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Have your say: What do you think of the poll numbers?