British Columbia Premier Christy Clark fields questions about a national energy strategy at the annual Council of the Federation meeting in Halifax on July 27, 2012.Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press
They've gained ground, but a new poll suggests the BC Liberals still have a long way to go to catch the NDP by next May's provincial election.
An Angus Reid poll released Wednesday says Premier Christy Clark's Liberal party has gained three points since August – its first increase since January. Twenty-five per cent of voters would support the Liberals if an election were held tomorrow.
The New Democrats lost three points over the last month, but still sit comfortably ahead at 46 per cent of decided voters and leaners. The BC Conservatives remained at 19 per cent, while the Green Party lost a point, landing at eight per cent.
The NDP continues to hold a significant lead in Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island, where it has 49 and 53 per cent support respectively. The Interior remains hotly contested, with the NDP at 34 per cent, the Liberals at 28 per cent, and the Conservatives at 25 per cent.
The poll says the NDP is holding on to 88 per cent of voters who supported the party in the 2009 provincial election. The Liberals, on the other hand, have a 56 per cent retention rate, with 29 per cent of their former voters now supporting the Conservatives.
NDP leader Adrian Dix still has the highest approval rating of the party leaders at 45 per cent. Ms. Clark is at 28 per cent.
The online poll of 800 British Columbians has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.