More than half think the province needs a centre-right party to serve as an alternative to New Democrats and Conservatives.

Vancouver, BC [April 27, 2026] – British Columbians are divided when asked what the party that is currently serving as the Official Opposition should resemble in the future, a new Research Co. poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative provincial sample, 19% of British Columbians would like the Conservative Party of BC to look like the current Liberal Party of Canada, while 18% want it to be similar to the current Conservative Party of Canada.

Fewer British Columbians would like the BC Conservatives to emulate the BC Liberals (13%), the Progressive Conservatives (10%), Social Credit (5%) or the Reform Party / Canadian Alliance (2%).

“More than two-in-five British Columbians who voted for the provincial Conservatives in 2024 (42%) want the party to look like the federal Official Opposition,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Only 9% think it should attempt to emulate the BC Liberals.”

British Columbians are divided on the legacy of the BC Liberals under Gordon Campbell (1993-2011). While 41% have a favourable opinion of this party, a similar proportion (38%) hold unfavourable views.

The favourability rating is lower for the BC Liberals under Christy Clark (2011-2017) (35%), the BC Liberals under Andrew Wilkinson (2018-2020) (26%) and BC United under Kevin Falcon (2022-2024) (23%).

More than a third of British Columbians (37%, -3 since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in March 2025) think the Conservative Party of BC is a “free enterprise coalition”, and almost two-in-five (39%, +5) believe the party’s next leader is a “premier-in-waiting”.

As was the case last year, British Columbians are more likely to trust the governing BC New Democratic Party (NDP) to stand up to the threats generated by U.S. President Donald Trump (51%, -8) than the opposition Conservative Party of BC (44%, -4).

Most British Columbians (52%, +4) think British Columbia needs a centre-right party to serve as an alternative to the BC New Democrats and the BC Conservatives.

More than three-in-five British Columbians who in 2024 voted for the BC Greens (62%) or the BC Conservatives (61%) would welcome a new centre-right party, along with just over half of those who cast ballots for BC NDP candidates (51%).

Just over two-in-five British Columbians (42%) think it would be a “very good” or “good” idea for the BC NDP and the BC Greens to merge into a single political party.

Support for three other mergers is slightly lower: 39% for a party featuring the BC Conservatives and OneBC, 38% for a party encompassing the BC Conservatives and Centre BC and 38% for a party featuring all three organizations: the BC Conservatives, One BC and Centre BC.

More than one-in-four British Columbians (27%) favour the Conservative Party of BC not running candidates in constituencies where OneBC has nominated a candidate, while 34% are opposed and 39% are not sure.

Respondents to this survey were also asked to choose a position that a political party should take based on five contrasting statements.

Almost four-in-five British Columbians (79%, +4) prefer parties where all members are free to vote individually, and just over seven-in-ten (71%, +1) choose parties that acknowledge and help the less fortunate.

Majorities of the province’s residents also select parties that are anti-American (67%, +3), that advocate for more economic and personal freedoms (64%, =) and that acknowledge Indigenous reconciliation (63%, -3).

Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from April 16 to April 18, 2026, among 802 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