More than half of the province’s residents agree with the decision to rename the Queen Charlotte Islands as Haida Gwaii in 2010.
Vancouver, BC [August 6, 2026] – Fewer than three-in-ten British Columbians are ready to endorse a change in the province’s name or flag, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative provincial sample, 28% of British Columbians (-1 since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in June 2024) agree with changing the name of the province to acknowledge its Indigenous heritage, while 58% (-2) disagree with this idea.
More than two-in-five British Columbians aged 18-to-34 (43%, -9) support changing the province’s name. The proportions are smaller among their counterparts aged 35-to-54 (30%, -2) and aged 55 and over (15%, +4).
A provincial name change is more popular in Northern BC (38%, =) and the Fraser Valley (37%, +16), followed by Metro Vancouver (27%, -5), Vancouver Island (also 27%, -4), and Southern BC (21%, +1).
“In 2022, Vancouver Island led all regions of British Columbia (37%) in its desire to change the name of the province,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Support for the idea has fallen by 10 points over the past four years.”
Just over one-in-four British Columbians (26%, -5) would change the flag of the province to remove the Union Jack, while a majority (52%, +1) is against this proposal.
Support for establishing a new provincial standard in British Columbia without the Union Jack is low among respondents of European (23%, -3) and East Asian (24%, -11) descent, but increases among residents whose origins are Indigenous (34%, -17) and South Asian (41%, -7).
When asked if anything bothers them about the name “British Columbia” for the province, fewer than one-in-five respondents cite the absence of an acknowledgement to Indigenous peoples (17%, =), the “British” part (16%, -2) or the “Columbia” part (7%, +1). Two thirds of British Columbians (66%, +1) say nothing bothers them particularly.
In 2010, the Queen Charlotte Islands were renamed as Haida Gwaii. Just over half of British Columbians (51%, -6) agree with this decision, while 23% (=) disagree and 26% (-3) are not sure.
Majorities of British Columbians who voted for the BC New Democratic Party (NDP) (66%) or the BC Green Party (60%) in the 2024 election endorse the decision to rename the Queen Charlotte Islands as Haida Gwaii. Only 41% of respondents who cast ballots for Conservative Party of BC candidates in the last provincial election share this view.
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from July 13 to July 15, 2026, among 801 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