The NDP’s snap election call does not appear to be hurting them — at least in the election’s early stages, new polling suggests. John Horgan’s party enters the second week of the campaign with an 18 point lead on the Liberals, according to a recent Ipsos poll.
The survey found 51 per cent of decided voters said they would be most likely or lean towards casting a ballot for the NDP, followed by the Liberals at 33 per cent and the Green Party with 12 per cent.
B.C. voters prefer Horgan for leader (44 per cent), with Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson trailing at 14 per cent and the Green Party’s Sonia Furstenau garnering six per cent.
The polling found a similar result when voters were asked about who they prefer to deal with important issues. Horgan and the NDP led for addressing COVID-19 (45 per cent), healthcare (41 per cent), cost of living (36 per cent), jobs and the economy (35 per cent) and housing (36 per cent).
The race is just beginning and many votes are still up for grabs. A significant number (31 per cent) of voters said they were undecided or had no preference — up from 23 per cent in the first poll of the 2017 election.
The NDP hold an 18 point lead among voters over 55 and a 25 point lead with women. The party has an 11 point lead among men.
The most important issue for nearly a third of British Columbians is COVID-19, followed by cost of living (24 per cent), jobs and the economy tied with health care (both 19 per cent) and housing (12 per cent).
The poll found 70 per cent felt very confident or somewhat confident they would be able to vote safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.l
The findings come from an Ipsos poll of 1,251 British Columbians conducted between Sept. 24 and 28 online and over the phone.
