A new poll from Angus Reid suggests that the New Democrats hold a 14-point lead on the BC Liberals on the eve of today's radio debate among the party leaders.
While the gap between the two parties is three points lower than the previous Reid poll, conducted April 12 and 13, all shifts in party support are within the poll's stated margin of error.
The latest online Reid poll found 45 per cent of decided and leaning respondents support the NDP, the same figure as the previous poll.
The BC Liberals received 31 per cent, up three percentage points from the earlier poll. The BC Conservatives received 11 per cent, down one point, and the Green party received 10 per cent, down three points. A further three per cent mentioned independent candidates or other parties.
The poll was greeted with media speculation about the reasons behind the changing numbers. However, with a stated margin of error of 3.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20, all the changes in party support could be the result of random chance.
Fifty-nine per cent agreed with the statement: "It is time for a change in government in British Columbia -- a different provincial party should be elected into power."
Twenty-five per cent agreed with the statement: "It is not time for a change in government in British Columbia -- the BC Liberals should be re-elected."
The four main party leaders debated on CKNW radio today, Friday, April 26.
The poll was conducted Wednesday, April 24 and Thursday, April 25, 2013 among 812 adult British Columbians selected at random from an Angus Reid online panel. For more about polling methodology, see this story.
| Company | Date | Lib | NDP | Cons | Green | Other | Method | Sample | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angus Reid | 17-18 Jan | 31 | 46 | 10 | 10 | 3 | Online | 802 | 3.5 |
| Mustel | 11-21 Jan | 33 | 43 | 11 | 11 | 2 | Phone | 509 | 4.3 |
| Justason | 25 Jan - 1 Feb | 26 | 48 | 12 | 11 | 3 | Phone-online | 600 | 4 |
| Ekos | 1-10 Feb | 27.4 | 39 | 14.6 | 13.5 | 5.5 | IVR* | 687 | 3.7 |
| Angus Reid | 22-21 Feb | 31 | 47 | 9 | 10 | 3 | Online | 803 | 3.5 |
| Ipsos | 8-12 Mar | 32 | 51 | 9 | 7 | 1 | Online | 1,000 | 3.1 |
| Angus Reid | 18-19 Mar | 28 | 48 | 11 | 11 | 2 | Online | 809 | 3.5 |
| Insights West | 26-31 Mar | 28 | 45 | 10 | 15 | 2 | Online | 855 | 3.4 |
| Ekos | 3-10 Apr | 27.3 | 39.3 | 13.4 | 16.2 | 3.8 | IVR* | 793 | 3.5 |
| Angus Reid | 12-13 Apr | 28 | 45 | 12 | 13 | 3 | Online | 804 | 3.5 |
| Ipsos | 11-14 Apr | 29 | 48 | 11 | 9 | 3 | Online | 800 | 3.5 |
| Angus Reid | 24-25 Apr | 31 | 45 | 11 | 10 | 3 | Online | 812 | 3.5 |
Note: The sampling error margins given here are those provided by the pollster. While online polls have been very successful at predicting recent elections, there is a methodological controversy surrounding the citing of margins of error for online polls. Some experts hold that it is inappropriate to quote a margin of error for an online poll because participants in such polls are drawn from volunteer panels, rather than chosen at random from the general population. For more on this issue, see this story.
Find Tyee election reporting team member and contributing editor Tom Barrett's previous Tyee articles here. Find him on Twitter or email him here.
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