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Andrew Weaver More Popular Than Christy Clark On Eve Of B.C. Election Campaign: Poll

The B.C. Liberals head into an election under the weight of a political donation scandal.

A day before the start of a B.C. election campaign, a new poll shows B.C. Liberal Premier Christy Clark's popularity is waning.

According to data from Insights West, Clark has dropped six points since February to 30 per cent — with B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver surpassing her with a six-point jump to 35 per cent support.

Meanwhile, NDP Opposition Leader John Horgan maintains his lead in approval ratings, even though he dipped two points during the same time period to 37 per cent.

Despite Weaver’s momentum, Clark is still viewed as the “preferred choice” when it comes to job creation and the economy, said Mario Canseco, vice-president of public affairs for Insights West.

“Premier Clark is still regarded as a superior economic manager, while opposition leader Horgan is connecting on themes like housing, education and care,” Canseco said in a release on Monday.

On the same day, Clark released the B.C. Liberals' platform focused on tax cuts, while Horgan says his party would eliminate tolls on two bridges linking the suburbs to Vancouver if the NDP wins the May 9 election.

The governing Liberals are heading into the vote under the weight of a political donation scandal, which Insights West data suggests has left an impression with voters between the ages of 18 and 34.

Of those polled within that demographic, 57 per cent said they would be “very upset” if Clark’s Liberal government held onto power.

At the same time, of respondents over the age of 55, nearly half (48 per cent) said they’d be “very upset” to see the NDP return to power. The last NDP government in B.C. was under Ujjal Dosanjh in 2001.

Insights West conducted its poll between April 5 to 8 among 801 adults, inclusive of 625 identified as decided voters. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points for the whole sample, and 3.9 percentage points among decided voters, 19 times out of 20.

With a file from The Canadian Press

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