According to a recent survey from Research Co., many Vancouver Island residents might vote differently if BC Conservative leader John Rustad were not in charge of the party.
First off, the survey sought to find out how Vancouver Island respondents saw themselves on the political spectrum.
Of the options, 1% considered themselves extreme right, 8% right, 14% centre right, 32% centre, 20% centre left, 11% centre left, 2% extreme left and 13% were unsure of where they stand.
This means that, although they were being asked primarily about the BC Conservatives in this survey, 23% saw their views as being politically right, while 33% saw themselves as politically left.
Next, the survey asked respondents how they currently view each of BC’s major parties on the political spectrum.
The majority of Vancouver Island respondents, at 20%, answered that they see the BC NDP as centre left, 21% see the BC Greens as left, 28% see the BC Conservatives as extreme right, 34% see Centre BC as centre and 16% see OneBC as extreme right.
Research Co. then sought to find out how Vancouver Islanders view each of the major political party leaders on the political spectrum.
Of the respondents, the majority of 22% said they see Premier David Eby as left, 19% see Emily Lowan of the BC Greens as left, 28% see John Rustad of the BC Conservatives as extreme left, 18% see Karen Kirkpatrick of Centre BC as centre and 10% see Dallas Brodie of OneBC as right.
Next was the meat and potatoes of the survey, in which Research Co. asked the question, “If the Conservative Party of BC currently had each of the following people as leader—instead of John Rustad—how would you vote if a provincial election were held today?”
A notable result of this was that in every situation, of the 15 alternative leadership options presented to respondents, in every case the majority answered that they would still vote for the BC NDP.
However, there were some who Vancouver Island respondents would have favoured slightly more and slightly less.
Of the options that were given, the four frontrunners were:
- Christy Clark (former premier with the Liberal Party of BC) with 28% of the vote – BC NDP won with 32%
- Aaron Gunn (North Island—Powell River) with 21% of the vote – BC NDP won with 28%
- Dianne Watts (formerConservative MLA for South Surrey—White Rock) with 20% of the vote – BC NDP won with 28%
- Elenore Sturko (Independent in Surrey—Cloverdale) with 20% of the vote – BC NDP won with 33%
Conversely, there are some candidates that Vancouver Island respondents did not respond well to, who include:
- Harman Bhangu (Langley—Abbotsford)with 10% of the vote – BC NDP won with 35%
- Peter Milobar (Kamloops Centre) with 11% of the vote – BC NDP won with 31%
- James Moore (former Conservative MLA for Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam)with 11% of the vote – BC NDP won with 33%
- Bryan Breguet (unsuccessful candidate for Vancouver-Langara) with 11% of the vote – BC NDP won with 29%
With Rustad having garnered a 71% approval rating from the BC Conservatives recent leadership review, he is likely to remain the party’s leader for the time being.
However, that may change before the next scheduled election in 2028.
