Roughly the same proportion of the province’s residents would be “very upset” with a win for the Liberals or the Conservatives.
Vancouver, BC [August 17, 2021] – Most residents of British Columbia believe the tenure of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada has been beneficial for the province, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative provincial sample, 54% of British Columbians think the province has been treated “very well” or “well” by Trudeau, while one third (34%) believe it has been treated “poorly” or “very poorly.
Respondents are almost evenly split when assessing the effect of the federal government headed by Stephen Harper on British Columbia, with 38% saying he treated the province “very well” or “well” and 42% believing he behaved “poorly” or “very poorly.”
“Almost half of British Columbians aged 55 and over (48%) hold a favourable view on the way the current federal government is treating the province,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Just over a third (35%) feel the same way about the previous federal administration.”
Across British Columbia, just over half of residents (51%) say they would be “very upset” if the Conservative Party forms the government again in Ottawa. Animosity towards a Tory administration rises to 53% among Green Party voters in 2019, 68% among Liberal voters and 72% among New Democratic Party (NDP) voters.
Just under half of British Columbians (48%) say they would be “very upset” if the Liberals win the next election and remain in power, including 85% of Conservative voters, 61% of Green voters and 54% of NDP voters.
Only 35% of British Columbians would be “very upset” if the NDP forms the government for the first time in Ottawa after the next federal election. This includes two thirds of Conservative voters (66%), but significantly lower proportions of those who voted for the Liberals (43%) or the Greens (32%) in 2019.
Four of the current ministers in the federal government represent constituencies located in British Columbia and are seeking re-election this year as candidates for the Liberal Party.
Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan has the best approval rating of the four BC-based federal ministers (37%), followed by Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson (31%), Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion Carla Qualtrough (29%) and Minister of Digital Government Joyce Murray (27%).
Methodology: Results are based on an online study conducted from August 7 to August 9, 2021, 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 data tables 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