Darrell Jones, Caroline Elliott, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Iain Black and Peter Milobar are slightly ahead on vote consideration.
Vancouver, BC [March 5, 2026] – There is no clear frontrunner when British Columbians—and past BC Conservative voters—assess the 11 candidates who expressed interest in taking over as leader of the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative provincial sample, 23% of British Columbians say they would “definitely” or “probably” consider voting for the BC Conservatives with former leader John Rustad at the helm.
Only four leadership candidates can count on the consideration of at least one-in-five British Columbians: Darrell Jones (25%), Caroline Elliott (22%), Kerry-Lynne Findlay (21%), Iain Black (20%) and Peter Milobar (also 20%).
The proportions are lower on this question for Sheldon Clare (19%), Yuri Fulmer (also 19%), Bruce Banman (also 19%), Warren Hamm (also 19%), Steve Kooner (17%) and Harman Bhangu (17%). The poll was conducted in February, when Clare and Kooner were still in the running.
Among British Columbians who voted for the BC Conservatives in the 2024 provincial election, Jones and Rustad are tied at 41%, followed by Elliott at 39%, Black at 35%, Findlay at 34% and Milobar at 33%. The numbers are slightly lower for Clare and Fulmer (32% each), Banman (31%), Hamm and Kooner (30% each) and Bhangu (29%).
Just over one-in-five British Columbians (21%) say they have a favourable opinion of Rustad, while 38% hold unfavourable views.
Jones has the highest favourability rating among the 11 original leadership candidates at 20%. The rating for the remaining candidates fluctuates between 11% and 14%.
“Most British Columbians do not know enough about the BC Conservative leadership contenders to have an opinion on them,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Darrell Jones has the highest awareness at 44%, while Warren Hamm and Harman Bhangu have the lowest at 33% each.”
Respondents to this survey were asked if nine issues would be better managed under the current BC New Democratic Party (NDP) government under David Eby or under a BC Conservative government led by Rustad.
A Rustad-led provincial administration is regarded as better positioned to manage the budget deficit (31% to 26%) and crime and public safety (31% to 28%).
The Eby-led BC NDP government is slightly ahead on the economy and jobs (31% to 28%) but holds larger leads on six other areas: housing, homelessness and poverty (31% to 24%), energy (33% to 26%), accountability (33% to 26%), education (36% to 23%), health care (37% to 25%) and the environment (37% to 23%).
On the economy and jobs, men are more likely to express a preference for the Rustad Conservatives (34% to 30%), while women pick the Eby New Democrats (33% to 23%).
The numbers are close on this question among British Columbians aged 18-to-34 (Rustad 28%, Eby 26%) and among those aged 35-to-54 (Rustad 32%, Eby 31%). The current government is clearly ahead among those aged 55 and over (36% to 25%).
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from February 22 to February 24, 2026, among 801 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