BC United falls to 4th place in polls, Conservatives narrow gap with NDP

With less than four months until B.C.'s provincial election, the current official opposition has fallen to fourth place, a recent poll from Research Co. revealed.

With less than four months until B.C.'s provincial election, the current official opposition has fallen to fourth place, a recent poll from Research Co. revealed.

According to results of the survey, released Tuesday, just 11 per cent of decided voters would cast a ballot for the BC United candidate in their riding, if the election was held today. That puts them behind the BC Green Party, which came in third at 15 per cent.

"I don't think they imagined a scenario, when they rebranded, that they were going to be in fourth place behind the Greens," Research Co. president, Mario Canseco, told CTV Morning Live on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the gap between the governing NDP and the BC Conservatives narrowed in the latest poll, with just seven percentage points between the two parties.

"It's definitely a situation that is different from what we envisioned a year ago. We saw the Conservatives sort of maybe with a chance of climbing the charts, maybe becoming the official opposition," Canseco said, explaining 40 per cent of decided voters would cast a ballot for the NDP, with 33 per cent saying they would vote for the BC Conservatives.

"A seven-point lead means that the election is going to be close and the summer is going to be crucial for the conservatives to finish their slate and try to connect with those voters who don't know who they are."

When it comes to key issues voters are concerned about, housing remained top-of-mind in Research Co.'s latest poll.