Almost four-in-five residents want to rely on the program to help the province recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vancouver, BC [June 1, 2020] – A new survey finds that most British Columbians support Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) and want to see them applied to public infrastructure projects as part of the province’s economic recovery plan.
The online survey conducted by Research Co. found that 74% of British Columbians either “strongly” or “moderately” support CBAs, and 77% agree with using them to help the province mend from the COVID-19 pandemic.
CBAs prioritize jobs for local residents and ensure employment opportunities for apprentices, Indigenous workers and women, and provide union wages and benefits.
Overall support for CBAs is strongest among British Columbians who voted for the BC Green Party in the 2017 provincial election (83%), but is also high among those who cast ballots for the BC New Democratic Party (NDP) (79%) and the BC Liberals (71%) three years ago.
A sizeable majority of British Columbians who voted BC Green in the last election (84%) are also in favour of using CBAs for the post-pandemic economic recovery.
In addition, 81% of BC NDP voters and 76% of BC Liberal voters also agree that CBAs should be used to support the province’s economic recovery plan.
Meanwhile, only 8% per cent of Green voters, 11% of NDP voters, and 16% of Liberal voters either “strongly” or “moderately” oppose CBAs overall.
In terms of demographics, support for CBAs is strongest among men (76%), British Columbians aged 55 and older (77%) and residents of Northern BC (78%).
“The level of support for CBAs is four points higher than it was when we first asked this question in August 2018,” said Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “When it comes to using CBAs for economic recovery, support is fairly uniform across gender, age and region.”
This survey was commissioned by the BC Building Trades Council.
Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted on May 26 and May 27, 2020, 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