The BC Liberals continue to lose support, as most people are willing to recall Liberal MLAs in their own ridings.

The governing BC Liberals and British Columbia’s premier are increasingly unpopular as their proposed Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) has come into effect, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative provincial sample of 801 British Columbian adults, 76 per cent of respondents disagree with the implementation of the HST. Three-in-four respondents (75%) would vote in favour of abolishing the HST if a referendum takes place next year.

Although the tax is already in force in BC, these results have not changed since the previous Angus Reid Public Opinion poll on this matter was conducted in June, before the HST was implemented.

Three-in-ten British Columbians (30%) claim that the HST will severely affect their household’s finances, and an additional 43 per cent say they will be at least moderately impacted with the new tax. Only four per cent of respondents believe the HST will have no impact on their household.

British Columbians say the HST will limit their budgets in many ways. Seven-in-ten (70%) say they will dine out less often as a result of the HST; 62 per cent will go to concerts or sporting events less often; 60 per cent say they will go to the movies or the theatre less; 55 per cent will buy fewer newspapers or magazines; and half (49%) will pay fewer visits to the dry cleaner.

Voting Intention and Main Issue

The New Democratic Party (NDP) remains well ahead in the provincial political scene, with 46 per cent of respondents saying they will vote for this party in the next provincial election (unchanged since June). The BC Liberals are down three points to 23 per cent, followed by the Greens with 14 per cent (=) and the BC Conservatives with eight per cent (=).

Echoing Premier Gordon Campbell’s growing unpopularity, British Columbians identify the economy (24%), health care (15%), and leadership (14%) as the province’s main challenges.

Leadership

Over the course of the past three months, only one per cent of BC respondents say their opinion of Premier Campbell has improved, whereas 72 per cent say it has worsened. This puts his momentum score at -71. NDP Leader Carole James fares better at -8. Green Party Leader Jane Sterk sits at -3—but three-in-ten respondents (30%) have no opinion of her.

Recall of MLAs

Some activists have called on voters to sign recall petitions against BC Liberal lawmakers to protest the HST. In all, 67 per cent of respondents who live in provincial ridings currently held by the BC Liberals say they would sign such a petition—a five-point increase since June.

This year’s editions of the BC Political Scene can be accessed here:
March 2010 / April 2010 / June 2010

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Public Affairs
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From July 6 to July 8, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 801 randomly selected British Columbia adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.4%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.