Almost half think the province needs a centre-right party to serve as an alternative to the BC NDP and the BC Conservatives.
Vancouver, BC [March 13, 2025] – Most British Columbians believe the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly should concentrate on four issues during the next four years, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative provincial sample, four-in-five British Columbians want the Conservative Party of BC to focus on fostering economic growth in all areas of the province (80%) and getting the government to invest more on health care (also 80%).
Majorities of British Columbians call for the Official Opposition to work on developing a housing policy that rivals what the provincial government is doing (70%) and getting more pipelines built and more energy projects approved (59%).
Fewer British Columbians think the BC Conservatives should spend time banning transgender women from taking part in women’s sports leagues competitions (42%) or reverting the ban on plastic straws (35%).
Almost three-in-five British Columbians (59%) say they trust the governing BC New Democratic Party (NDP) to stand up to the threats generated by Donald Trump. Just under half of the province’s residents (48%) trust the Conservative Party of BC for this same endeavour.
British Columbians aged 18-to-34 are more likely to express confidence in the BC NDP to manage the American president (64%) than the BC Conservatives (49%). Those aged 55 and over feel the same way about the two parties (51% each).
Almost half of British Columbians (48%) think the province needs a centre-right party to serve as an alternative to the BC NDP and the BC Conservatives.
Two-in-five British Columbians (40%) think the Conservative Party of BC is a “free enterprise coalition”, while just over a third (34%) refer to BC Conservative leader John Rustad as a “premier-in-waiting”.
“Residents of Northern BC (46%), Southern BC (44%) and the Fraser Valley (43%) are more likely to regard the BC Conservatives as a free enterprise coalition,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “The proportions are lower among those who live in Metro Vancouver (39%) and Vancouver Island (36%).”
British Columbians are split when comparing Rustad to the politicians who commanded the BC Liberals. About one-in-five respondents feel the BC Conservative leader is better than Gordon Campbell (19%), Christy Clark (21%), Andrew Wilkinson (19%) and Kevin Falcon (19%). Roughly three-in-ten British Columbians believe Rustad is worse than Campbell (32%), Clark (33%), Wilkinson (29%) and Falcon (29%).
Among British Columbians who voted for the BC Conservatives in last year’s provincial election, the perceptions are markedly better. More than a third believe Rustad is better than Falcon (40%), Clark (38%), Wilkinson (36%) and Campbell (36%).
More than three-in-five British Columbians (63%) think the Conservative Party of BC resembles the current Conservative Party of Canada, while just over two-in-five (44%) think it is akin to the federal Progressive Conservative Party that existed from 1942 to 2003.
Significantly fewer British Columbians believe the BC Conservatives are similar to the federal Reform Party / Canadian Alliance (30%), the defunct provincial Social Credit Party (29%), the BC Liberals (29%) and the current federal Liberal Party (24%).
Respondents to this survey were also asked to choose a position that a political party should take based on five contrasting statements.
Three-in-four British Columbians (75%) prefer parties where all members are free to vote individually, while one-in-four (25%) prefer parties where all members vote as a group.
Seven-in-ten British Columbias (70%) prefer parties that acknowledge and help the less fortunate, while three-in-ten (30%) prefer parties that choose not to provide handouts when in power.
Two thirds of British Columbians (66%) side with parties that acknowledge Indigenous reconciliation instead of with those that do not (34%).
Majorities of the province’s residents prefer parties that are anti-American (64%) and that advocate for more economic and personal freedoms (also 64%) over those perceived as pro-American (36%) and that defend the status quo on economic and personal freedoms (also 36%).
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from March 3 to March 5, 2025, among 802 adults in British Columbia. The data has been statistically weighted according to 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