Christy Clark in Port Moody, B.C. March 22, 2012.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail
The opposition B.C. New Democrats have an eight percentage point lead on the governing B.C. Liberals in voter support, according to a poll released Tuesday.
The Mustel Group Market Research survey also found 17 per cent support for the B.C. Conservatives.
On Monday, former cabinet minister John van Dongen, the Abbotsford-South MLA, said he would be departing the Liberal caucus to join the Conservatives, giving them a seat in the legislature.
The survey also found that Premier Christy Clark has a 41 per cent approval rating and 40 per cent disapproval rating. Nineteen per cent of respondents were undecided.
Adrian Dix, leader of the BC New Democrats, had a 35 per cent approval rating and 29 per cent disapproval rating. Thirty-six per cent were undecided.
The Mustel survey was conducted by random telephone calls of 518 B.C. adults between March 5 and 19.
Its findings indicate that, overall, 17 per cent of respondents were undecided.
The margin of error is plus-or-minus 4.3 percentage points at the 95 per cent confidence level.
Release of the survey results come as Angus Reid Public Opinion released a national poll whose findings indicate that Ms. Clark is among four Canadian premiers with disapproval ratings above 50 per cent. The specific number they calculate is 58 per cent; her approval rating is 33 per cent. Nine per cent were undecided.
The other premiers with disapproval ratings above 50 per cent are Quebec's Jean Charest at 67 per cent. Nova Scotia's Darrell Dexter at 57 per cent and Ontario's Dalton McGuinty at 55 per cent.
The survey found Mr. Dix has an approval rating of 47 per cent and a disapproval rating of 37 per cent. Sixteen per cent were undecided.
Angus Reid's findings are based on an online survey of 6, 622 randomly selected adults conducted between March 6 and 14. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 1.2 per cent 19 times out of 20.
Ian Bailey