Just over half of the city’s residents (51%) approve of the performance of Ken Sim as Mayor.
Vancouver, BC [November 15, 2023] – While most residents of the City of Vancouver are pleased with the mayor, almost half say their quality of life has decreased over the past year, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative sample, 51% of Vancouverites approve of the way Ken Sim is handling his duties as Mayor, while 29% disapprove and 21% are undecided.
More than seven-in-ten Vancouverites who voted for Sim in the 2022 mayoral election (73%) are satisfied with his performance, along with 49% of those who cast a ballot for Kennedy Stewart of Forward Together and 34% of those who voted for any one of the 13 candidates who finished with less than 10% of all cast ballots in 2022.
Vancouverites were asked about the “State of the City” by rating the way 11 different issues have been managed over the past year.
More than half of the city’s residents perceive no change on three issues: parks and facilities (58%), public recreation and activities (57%) and public schools (54%). More than two-in-five (44%) also think the situation is “about the same” as it was last year on fiscal responsibility.
About a third of Vancouverites (32%) believe three issues are now worse than they were a year ago: jobs and economic development, the cleanliness of streets and road maintenance, and the influence of developers.
On four other issues, significant proportions of Vancouverites believe things are worse now than a year ago: public safety (44%), policies to deal with homelessness (46%), quality of life (also 46%) and housing affordability (60%).
“Only 8% of Vancouverites say their quality of life in the city is better now than a year ago,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “In contrast, 49% of those aged 35-to-54 and 59% of those who live Downtown say things are worse now.”
Almost half of residents of the City of Vancouver (48%) identify housing as the most important issue, followed by drug overdoses (12%), crime (9%) and property taxes (also 9%).
Fewer Vancouverites mention other issues, including poverty (8%), jobs (5%), climate change (4%), transit (2%) and congestion (1%).
Methodology: Results are based on an online study conducted from November 4 to November 6, 2023, among 400 adults in the City of Vancouver. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in the City of Vancouver. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 4.9 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