Shifting Tectonics on the West Coast?

As we await confirmation of a potential B.C. Conservative surge, another floor-crossing puts the newly re-branded B.C. United on thin ice

As the federal Conservative Convention was under way last week Quebec City, a new British Columbia poll from Mainstreet Research was released, and its results raised a few eyebrows to say the least.

While the poll (unsurprisingly) gave the governing B.C. New Democrats the overall lead in the province (albeit by a smaller margin than other recent B.C. polls, see complete list here), in second place with 27% province-wide support was the (provincial) Conservative Party of British Columbia, the very same party that had amassed 1.9% of the popular vote and had won a grand total of zero seats in the last B.C. general election three years ago.

These numbers came public at the same time as the federal Conservatives have made notable in-roads in the province — according to a flurry of polls released in September.