More than half of British Columbians think that a different party leader would fare better as Canada’s Prime Minister.
Vancouver, BC [March 26, 2019] – A majority of British Columbians are looking at options beyond Justin Trudeau as the federal election nears, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative provincial sample, 53% of British Columbians believe that “a different party leader would do things better in Ottawa as Prime Minister than Justin Trudeau.”
Men are more likely to believe that a different leader would fare better as Canada’s head of government (56%, compared to 50% for women).
One third (34%) of British Columbians who voted for the federal Liberal Party in the 2015 election also believe a different party leader would do things better in Ottawa than the incumbent.
“With a few months to go before the next federal campaign begins, animosity toward the current prime minister in British Columbia is strongest outside of Metro Vancouver,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Majorities of voters in the Fraser Valley (58%), Southern BC (57%) and Northern BC (55%) would prefer to have a different leader in charge.”
In addition, 50% of British Columbians think that “a different party would do things better in Ottawa as a government than the Liberals.” This group includes majorities of British Columbians aged 18-to-34 (54%) and 55 and over (51%), as well as one-in-four (25%) federal Liberal voters from 2015.
When asked if they expect the Liberal Party to form the government again after the next federal election, 38% of British Columbians believe that this will be the case, while 44% disagree.
More than half of British Columbians report being “very familiar” or “moderately familiar” with the policies and ideas of the Liberal Party (78%), the New Democratic Party (NDP) (72%), the Conservative Party (69%) and the Green Party (59%).
Only 16% of British Columbians are “very familiar” or “moderately familiar” with the policies and ideas of the People’s Party, while three-in-four (75%) say they are “not too familiar” or “not familiar at all” with them.
Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted from March 8 to March 10, 2019, among 800 adults in British Columbia. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in British Columbia. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.5 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our full data set here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca