A new poll finds more than half of British Columbians planning to vote for the federal Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre would also vote for the Conservative Party of B.C. under John Rustad.

The poll from Angus Reid Institute released April 1 害羞草研究所� the same day, on which the provincial carbon tax rises by 23 per cent - 害羞草研究所� looks at how current federal vote intentions would impact choices in B.C.害羞草研究所檚 fall election. So far, B.C. Conservatives 害羞草研究所� who are not connected to the federal Conservatives 害羞草研究所� appear to benefit from the strong showing of the federal Conservatives in B.C. in various polls.

According to the poll, 56 per cent of federal Conservative voters 害羞草研究所渁re more likely to support the provincial Conservatives than B.C. United害羞草研究所� in October.

B.C. United under Leader Kevin Falcon would draw 29 per cent of federal Conservative voters while 13 per cent of federal Conservative voters would vote for the provincial NDP under Premier David Eby. Eby害羞草研究所檚 party would get 82 per cent of British Columbians planning to vote for the federal NDP, while 11 per cent of federal New Democrats have signalled their preference for the B.C. Greens under Sonia Furstenau.

Meanwhile, B.C. United 害羞草研究所� formerly known as the B.C. Liberals 害羞草研究所� finds itself drawing voters from multiple sources. More federal Liberals 害羞草研究所� 36 per cent 害羞草研究所� than federal Conservatives 害羞草研究所� 29 per cent 害羞草研究所� would vote for B.C. United in the fall with nearly six out of 10 federal Liberals (57 per cent) planning to vote for the provincial New Democrats.

These figures will likely intensify efforts by the Conservative Party of B.C. to further link the provincial New Democrats under Eby to federal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. At the same time, both provincial Conservatives and B.C. United have been jockeying to position themselves near Poilievre and his strong poll numbers in B.C.

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But the Angus Reid survey also bears good news for provincial New Democrats. Federal New Democrats and Liberal supporters see health care and affordability 害羞草研究所� rather than government deficits 害羞草研究所� as higher priorities.

害羞草研究所淚n both cases, while majorities among those groups feel the government is performing poorly on the issues, they are more likely to praise Eby and the NDP害羞草研究所檚 handling of the files than others,害羞草研究所� it reads.

Federal New Democrats and federal Liberals are also willing to give the current government the benefit of doubt. Despite various criticisms, almost half of federal Liberals and almost six out of 10 federals New Democrats say this is not the time to change government in B.C.

This 害羞草研究所渂odes well for Eby and the provincial NDP,害羞草研究所� the poll report reads.

The poll is less optimistic about the prospects of B.C. United. It notes that B.C. United has perhaps the more difficult job when it comes to navigating issues like the carbon tax because the party害羞草研究所檚 support comes from both federal Conservatives strongly opposed to the tax and federal Liberals generally supportive of the tax.

害羞草研究所淥n one hand, it is perhaps beneficial for the party formerly known as the B.C. Liberals to have a foot in both camps, giving Falcon a larger centre-right pool of voters to pull from,害羞草研究所� it reads. On the other, it also means B.C. United is fighting a two-front war to keep voters from defecting to the Conservatives on its right and bolstering the NDP on its left.害羞草研究所�

This dynamic appears in the difference between the positions of the B.C. Conservatives and B.C. United on the carbon tax.

Provincial Conservatives want to eliminate carbon taxation, period. B.C. United has said it would only cut the tax if the federal Conservatives were to win the next federal election and cut the national carbon tax. New Democrats have said multiple times that they would stick with the tax.

While the B.C. NDP finds itself 害羞草研究所渁s the dominant choice for left-of-centre voters, attracting both federal Liberal and NDP supporters,害羞草研究所� vote-splitting 害羞草研究所渋s still an issue for the party in ridings it competes with the B.C. Greens, who have traditionally been strong on (Vancouver Island) and along the Sunshine Coast.害羞草研究所�

Looming behind these figures is what Angus Reid calls the emergence of an 害羞草研究所渦nfamiliar害羞草研究所� electoral map in B.C.

Unofficial projections from Polling Canada, a public public aggregator for polls, give the B.C. NDP another majority government with provincial Conservatives dominating outside Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island at the expense of B.C. United, following the release of a poll by Mainstreet Research that shows provincial Conservatives within six points of the NDP.

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