NDP leads NEWS 1130/PlaceSpeak 2017 Lower Mainland poll
Posted May 8, 2017 5:50 pm.
Last Updated June 15, 2017 4:12 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The BC NDP holds a majority of the Lower Mainland ridings, but there will be some close races in several areas, according to the final results of the NEWS 1130/PlaceSpeak election poll.
Overall, the NDP took 48 per cent of the vote, followed by the Liberals at 26 per cent and the Green Party at 23 per cent with 930 participants.
“We do predict that the majority of the ridings within the Vancouver Lower Mainland are moving towards NDP wins, but there are some close ones,” Colleen Hardwick with PlaceSpeak says. “We’re seeing a pretty solid NDP block in Burnaby, all four ridings. We suspect that is being influenced by Kinder Morgan.”
Hardwick says, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge-Mission are leaning NDP while the Vancouver ridings are predominately NDP.
It may come as no surprise that ridings such as Vancouver West End and Vancouver Point Grey show strong NDP support with incumbents Spencer Chandra Herbert and David Eby respectively, despite a change to the former’s borders to include Liberal-friendly Cole Harbour.
Surge of support for Greens
However, the NDP may face significant challenges to win over Green voters in Vancouver False-Creek, Vancouver Hastings and New Westminster, where the third party is gaining ground.
“We’re seeing a surge of the Greens that is unprecedented,” Hardwick says.
There’s also strong support for the Liberals in ridings including Abbotsford South, Delta South, Richmond Steveston, and Surrey White Rock.
There are several ridings that Hardwick says they will be watching closely Tuesday evening including North Vancouver-Lonsdale, Maple Ridge-Mission and Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows and Delta North where the Liberals and NDP remain in a dead heat.
Liberal incumbent Sam Sullivan may be in for a fight in Vancouver False Creek, as polling shows a near three-way tie between him and his opponents Morgane Oger (NPD) and Bradley Shende (Green).
Hardwick admits since the poll was conducted online, it may have skewed in favour of younger, more digitally literate voter.
“Maybe this indicates the Liberal vote is older,” she says.
