At any other time, a province undergoing a labour dispute, a significant budget deficit and heightened concerns about inflation would see the Official Opposition rising to challenge the incumbent government. But this not any other time. The Conservative Party of B.C. is currently in second place with the support of 38 per cent of decided voters (down four points since June), with the governing BC New Democratic Party leading with 44 per cent (up one point).

The Green Party of B.C., fresh off the appointment of Emily Lowan as leader, is third with 12 per cent (up four points), followed by Centre BC with three per cent (up one point) and OneBC with one per cent (unchanged).

Premier and B.C. NDP Leader David Eby has a higher approval rating than BC Conservative Leader John Rustad (53 per cent to 37 per cent) and is ahead on the “Best Premier” question (37 per cent to 21 per cent). The provincial Conservatives and the Greens underwent very different leadership processes in the summer. While Rustad’s approval is exactly where it was in June, Lowan stands at 34 per cent, a seven-point improvement over BC Green interim leader Jeremy Valeriote.

In years past, voters in Metro Vancouver had little difficulty backing centre-right politicians with municipal pedigree, such as Gordon Campbell, or those who sought........

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