Almost two-in-five likely voters in the region think housing is the most important issue facing their municipality right now.
Vancouver, BC [August 12, 2022] – The idea of merging all Metro Vancouver municipalities into a single entity is not particularly attractive to all likely voters in the region, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative sample of likely voters in Metro Vancouver, 44% of respondents think it would be worthwhile to explore the idea of amalgamating all of the municipalities in Metro Vancouver, like they did in Toronto or Montreal.
“Majorities of likely voters in Surrey (53%) and Vancouver (52%) favour the concept of amalgamation,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “In all other regions of Metro Vancouver, the level of support for this concept is decidedly lower.”
In the North Shore municipalities, only 40% of likely voters think it is time to explore amalgamation. The proportions are lower in Burnaby, Richmond and New Westminster (37%), the Tri-Cities (35%), Delta, White Rock, the City of Langley and the Township of Langley (23%) and Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge (13%).
More than two-in-five likely voters in Metro Vancouver (45%) think their municipality should abandon the “at-large system” (where voters select individual councillors) and move to a “ward system” (where councillors can be elected in specific constituencies).
The “ward system” is more popular in the two most populous municipalities: Vancouver (60%) and Surrey (53%).
Almost two-in-five likely voters in Metro Vancouver (38%) say housing is the most important issue facing their municipality, followed by property taxes (11%), crime (9%), climate change (also 9%) and COVID-19 (8%).
Housing is a particularly serious concern for likely voters in Burnaby, Richmond and New Westminster (55%), while concerns over crime are more prevalent in Surrey (18%) and Delta, White Rock, the City of Langley and the Township of Langley (13%) .
More than half of likely voters in the Tri-Cities (64%), the North Shore (61%), Vancouver (54%) and Burnaby, Richmond and New Westminster (53%) are satisfied with the performance of their mayors. The rating is lower in Delta, White Rock, the City of Langley and the Township of Langley (40%), Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge (also 40%) and Surrey (23%).
More than three-in-five likely voters in the Tri-Cities (62%) and the North Shore (61%) are satisfied with the work of their councils. All other regions are below the 50% mark on this question, including Burnaby, Richmond and New Westminster (47%), Vancouver (37%), Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge (36%), Delta, White Rock, the City of Langley and the Township of Langley (34%) and Surrey (28%).
Almost half of likely voters across Metro Vancouver (47%) say they are satisfied with the state of affairs in their municipality. Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge hold the lowest ranking on this question (20%) while the Tri-Cities are at the top (68%).
More than half of likely voters in Metro Vancouver are satisfied with three other issues in their respective municipalities: public safety (55%), the quality of services (64%) and cleanliness (67%).
The lowest rating for public safety is observed in Surrey, where 39% of likely voters are satisfied and a majority (57%) are dissatisfied.
Methodology: Results are based on an online study conducted from August 3 to August 6, 2022, among 800 likely voters in Metro Vancouver. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. 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