Support for the BC Greens has surged ahead of the Liberals on Vancouver Island, and pollsters say the party stands to potentially pick up a few seats come May 14.
A new Angus Reid Public Opinion survey puts the Greens at 22 per cent support, bumping the governing Liberals down to third place on the island.
Premier Christy Clark’s party was favoured by just 19 per cent of respondents, less than half of the still-dominant NDP, which received 45 per cent support among islanders and across the province as a whole.
Pollster Mario Canseco said the island’s Saanich-North and Oak Bay-Gordon Head ridings offer the best chances for the Greens.
“The Liberal incumbents are not really that great in those areas,” Canseco said. “Now it’s really all about running people who are very well-known, who are leaders in those communities.”
The Greens’ Saanich-North candidate, Adam Olsen, is a lifelong resident of the Saanich Peninsula and two-time Saanich councillor, while Oak Bay hopeful Andrew Weaver is a University of Victoria professor, published author and recipient of the Order of British Columbia.
Canseco said the Green vote traditionally drops closer to Election Day, however, as many of the young voters who make up a large chunk of the party’s base fail to show up at ballot boxes.
Across B.C., the Angus Reid poll saw the NDP fall by three points, but the dip didn’t appear to help the stagnating Liberals, who remained at 28 per cent support overall. A full 61 per cent of respondents said they believe it’s time for a change of government.
And despite Clark and the Liberals’ attempts to position themselves as the best economic stewards for B.C., respondents continued to favour opposition leader Adrian Dix as the best suited for the job.
Dix was favoured for every major political issue except for the environment, which was won by Green leader Jane Sterk.
The online poll was conducted on April 12 and 13 among 804 randomly selected B.C. adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 per cent.
