While support for the federal Conservative Party continues to slip in British Columbia, the New Democratic Party is gaining further ground, Insights West announced Tuesday.
If the federal election were held today, the research company found 41 per cent of decided voters in this province would vote NDP. This is up six percentage points compared with the last poll conducted in May.
The Conservative Party has the support of 22 per cent of B.C. voters; this is down seven percentage points from May. The Liberal party slipped a percentage point to 24 per cent and the Green Party gained two percentage points with 12 per cent.
Support for the NDP is consistent among men and women. This differs from the previous poll, which found women were more likely to vote for that party.
The Conservatives have the most support among voters over age 55 (29 per cent); however, respondents in this age group still preferred the NDP overall (41 per cent).
The Liberal Party has its strongest support in the 35-54 age range, at 27 per cent. These voters still saw the NDP as the most appealing party with 42 per cent.
NDP support is even higher in Metro Vancouver than in the province as a whole, with 43 per cent of decided voters saying they would choose this party.
The Liberals are in second place at 25 per cent, followed by the Conservatives at 23 per cent.
Vancouver Island respondents showed a significant jump in support for the Green Party, from 20 per cent in May to 32 per cent in this latest survey.
Stephen Harper's approval rating has slipped seven percentage points to 28 per cent in this most recent poll.
NDP leader Tom Mulcair increased three percentage points to 55 per cent and Elizabeth May has gained eight percentage points (52 per cent). Justin Trudeau's approval rating has increased five points to 51 per cent.
Mulcair would make the best prime minister according to the poll, with 27 per cent (up five percentage points) of pollsters choosing him over the other candidates.
He was followed by Trudeau (20 per cent, up one percentage point), Harper (19 per cent, down eight percentage points) and May (nine per cent, up three percentage points).
"One of the big problems for the Conservative Party is the fact that three-in-ten of their own voters from 2011 are already looking elsewhere," says Insights West vice-president, public affairs Mario Canseco.
"In addition, both the approval rating and the momentum score for the Conservative leader are significantly lower than what is observed with his rivals."
These numbers aren't set in stone, Insights West found, and 42 per cent of those polled across B.C. said they could change their mind by the time the election takes place.
The parties with the most steadfast supporters were the Conservatives (71 per cent) and the NDP (63 per cent).
Only 49 per cent of respondents who chose Liberal in this poll and 33 per cent of those who selected the Green Party say they are committed to those parties.
When asked what the most important issues were in the upcoming election, 33 per cent chose the economy and jobs, 19 per cent picked government accountability and 12 per cent selected health care.
Insights West conducted this poll between August 20-24 with 815 respondents. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
