Voters split on party most trusted to manage BC’s economy
2017-04-21
Vancouver B.C. (21 Apr 2017) – In a survey fielded April 12-15, 2017, we asked British Columbians, “Which party do you most trust to manage BC’s economy?”
Three-in-ten BCers (31%) could not offer an opinion.
Among those with an opinion, it is a close call between the BC Liberals and the BC NDP (both at 37%) in a category that should probably be owned by the BC Liberals, as it has over over past election cycles. However, in 2017 B.C. voters are considering economic stewardship carefully resulting in a dead heat with the BC NDP and stronger-than-expected trust in the BC Greens (15%).
Regionally, trust in the BC Liberals to manage the economy is highest in Metro Vancouver outside of the City of Vancouver and Southern/Eastern BC, while the BC NDP’s strength is in the City of Vancouver and Northern BC. The BC Greens’ strongest showing for economic stewardship is in the Capital Region and the rest of Vancouver Island / Gulf Islands, albeit still below scores for the BC Liberals and BC NDP.
Men are more likely to trust in the BC Liberals to manage the economy, while women lean toward the BC NDP. Trust in the BC NDP to manage the economy is relatively stable with age, while for trust scores increase for the BC Liberals among residents 55 years and older.
Traditionally, economic stewardship is a bellwether issue that voters take into the polling booth. The BC Liberals have won elections amidst other frustrations with the leadership and the party based on the performance of the B.C. economy. Clearly, a well-organized incumbent BC Liberal can succeed on a platform of economic optimism as illustrated by the surprise BC Liberal win in 2013. The BC Liberals have built a political dynasty on economically conservative values and the province’s economic performance since 2001.
Research Notes
For the next month Justason Market Intelligence and zinc tank have teamed up to offer regular insights on this Provincial Election.These are the findings of a survey of 1,007 adult residents of British Columbia. The survey was conducted by Justason Market Intelligence and zinc tank. The online sample source, Google communities, uses Bayesian, river-sampling methodology to yield a final weighted sample reflecting the population demographics and character. These data rely on a non-probability weighted sample; hence, no margin of error is reported. B.C. has higher-than-average penetration of mobile internet access. Broadband internet access exceeds landline usage. The research tool offered by Google Surveys continues to be rated favourably and has been used extensively by zinc tank’s Brian F. Singh in his work in the 2014 Winnipeg Municipal Election and during the Alberta and Federal Elections in 2015.- Dates of research: April 12-15, 2017
- Sample: 1,007 B.C. residents 18 years and older
- Methodology: Online via Google Surveys
- Weighting: Final data were weighted to match actual regional, gender, and age distributions according to the most recent census.
- Margin of error: This research does not report margin of error. A pure unweighted probability sample of 1007 reports margin of error at ±3.1 percentage points most (95 per cent) of the time.
- Research Sponsor: zinc tank and Justason Market Intelligence Inc.
+1 604 783 4165 / Barb@JustasonMI.com / JMI.co Brian Singh, zinc tank +1 403 861 9462 / brian@zinc-tank.com / zinc-tank.com – 30 –
