Ian Campbell departure pushes Kennedy Stewart ahead in Vancouver’s Mayoral race: Poll

A new poll shows Independent candidate Kennedy Stewart is in the lead in the election to become Vancouver’s mayor.

Research Co. president Mario Canseco said Ian Campbell’s departure has helped Kennedy Stewart pull ahead for Vancouver’s top job.

“The 18 per cent that was going for Ian Campbell back in July is now being spread among two candidates. We have an 11-point increase for Kennedy Stewart, who went from 25 per cent to 36 per cent. And we now have a seven-point increase for Shauna Sylvester, who moves to third place to replace Campbell.”

The NPA’s Ken Sim remains stagnant in second place with 25 per cent support.

“I think there were a lot of voters who maybe were undecided or looking to specific centre-left candidates, and now that one candidate has dropped out, people are looking at options at their disposal,” Canseco said. “This bodes well for the centre-left in a way. You don’t have the same situation of the votes being distributed in the same way to the centre-right, in particular when it comes to Hector Bremner.”

Thirty-one per cent of Vancouverites are undecided.

“It’s not as if all of these people are not going to vote. We had a lot of people in the last election who voted for Gregor Robertson or Kirk LaPointe or for Meena Wong who are still making up their minds. So there is still a lot of room for gains at this point, essentially a month before we head to the polls.”

Two-thirds of residents said housing is the top issue facing the city, followed by transportation.

“It’s something that is particularly troubling for millennials. If you’re 18 to 34 years old, you’re more likely to believe that this is the number one issue facing the city and it might be the issue that defines who you are voting for. Definitely, in the next few weeks, it will be important to connect on the housing file, in particular with younger voters.”

British Columbians head to the polls on Oct. 20.