The latest polls are looking good for the Conservative Party of British Columbia.
Not so long ago reckoned to be in a distant fourth place, then third, then second, pollsters are now consistently rating John Rustad’s party as the favourites in the upcoming election.
In the last eight major polls, the party has been either tied with Premier David Eby’s BC NDP or in first place.
Of the last 12 polls, the Conservatives were ahead in eight, tied in three and behind the NDP in one.
The most recent polls from Mainstreet Research, Pollara and Leger all give the Conservatives a lead of between one and three points.
Leger’s has the NDP on 43 points, the Conservatives on 46 and the BC Greens on 10.
In Pollara’s survey, the NDP are put on 41, Conservatives 44 and Greens 11.
Mainstreet’s newest release – the pollster is publishing daily surveys – puts the NDP on 42, Conservatives on 43 and Greens on 11.
According to Leger’s poll, however, Eby remains the most popular leader in the province, with a 46 per cent approval rating. Rustad came second with 36 per cent, while Sonia Furstenau, the leader of the Greens, came last on 33 per cent.
Leger’s research – which goes into some detail about issues – also found that 84 per cent of BC residents intend to vote in the election.
Meanwhile, only 36 per cent of participants in the poll said they thought BC was heading in the right direction.
More than half – 55 per cent – said the opposite.
Housing, health, inflation and the economy were deemed the most important issues in the election.
The latest polling suggests a stunning reassessment of the NDP government by the electorate over the last 10 months.
Earlier this year, the NDP was 28 points ahead, according to one poll.
As recently as late May, the party was given a double-digit lead over its rivals by the Angus Reid Institute.
Speaking to NowMedia late last month, the pollster Mario Canseco said the election looks "very different" from the one expected a year ago.
“Ultimately [it’s about] trying to figure out who establishes that emotional connection with voters to seal the deal,” the Research Co. president said.
The election will be held on Oct. 19.
