VANCOUVER—A new poll shows voters are considering Green and independent candidates over more established parties like Vision Vancouver or the Non-Partisan Association.

According to the survey, 46 per cent of voters said they were considering voting for Green candidates, while 39 per cent were interested in voting for independent candidates. The Coalition of Progressive Electors were at 33 per cent, while 30 per cent were considering Vision Vancouver and 30 per cent said they will likely vote for the NPA.

When it comes to mayoral candidates, independent Kennedy Stewart is still leading the pack, with 23 per cent of voters saying he would make a good choice for mayor. Another independent mayoral candidate, Shauna Sylvester, was at 19 per cent; the NPA’s Ken Sim was at 18 per cent; Hector Bremner, the mayoral candidate for Yes Vancouver, had 15 per cent support; David Chen with ProVancouver had 11 per cent, Wai Young with Coalition Vancouver had 10 per cent and Fred Harding with Vancouver First had 8 per cent.

The online poll of 400 adults who live in Vancouver was conducted between Sept. 4 and Sept. 7 by Vancouver-based Research Co. and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

It was conducted before Ian Campbell, Vision Vancouver’s mayoral candidate, announced Monday he would drop out of the race, citing his “complicated personal journey.” The surprise decision leaves Vision Vancouver — which has held the balance of power on city council since 2008 — without a mayoral candidate as the election approaches.

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Campbell had done fairly well in recent polls, usually coming in second or third, said Mario Canseco, president of Research Co. While the party has promised it “will have more to say about the mayoral campaign in the coming days,” the deadline for declaring candidacy for the upcoming election closes this Friday.

Canseco said that if Vision doesn’t have a mayoral candidate, it could be a significant blow to the party and the remaining Vision candidates for city council, school board and park board.

“Now you’re in the same situation that the Green Party or OneCity would have,” he said, as those parties are also not running a mayoral candidate.

“You’re not going to get into debates and have that public exposure,” Canseco explained, adding that in the past Vision mayor Gregor Robertson has been a key part of the party’s “brand.”

Several high-profile council candidates are running this year, and many of them have previous political experience. They include Wade Grant, a Musqueam Nation councillor; Rob McDowell, a former NPA council candidate; Adrian Crook, an advocate for urban issues; Erin Shum, a former NPA park board commissioner; and Sarah Blyth, a former Vision park board commissioner who started the city’s first overdose prevention site.

Canseco said the public’s willingness to consider independent candidates is a clear sign that B.C.’s stricter new campaign rules are changing the electoral landscape.

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“We haven’t elected an independent in years,” he said.

“It’s the abandonment of the party system. You see the NPA splitting, with Hector Bremner leaving and starting his own party, and now you have the party that’s (held power) since 2008 without a mayoral candidate.”

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