Many people don’t want a coalition following BC election: poll

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – As we wait for the final results of last week’s provincial election, British Columbians have mixed thoughts of what the government should look like once the absentee ballots are counted at the end of the month.

President and CEO of Mainstreet Research Quito Maggi explains nearly 60 per cent of people they asked would rather see the BC Green Party support the government on a vote-by-vote basis, rather than a coalition. “That points to the fact that people I think expect to see some change in the way the government operates, and not necessarily seeing some formal arrangement between the Greens and either party.”

However, Maggi adds nearly the same number say they would approve of an NDP-Green coalition.

If we end up with a minority government, Maggi says most people expect it would last between one and two years. “The vast majority of British Columbians expect this government to last between one and two years and that points to the danger of a snap election possibility.”
Maggi adds if one party calls an election before one year has passed, it’ll probably be punished at the ballot box.

One surprising revelation from this poll is which party should run the province. “Overall, 51 per cent of voters say the NDP should form the next government — including 27 per cent of Liberal voters. Among NDP voters the number is overwhelming (89 per cent) — perhaps more importantly Green voters say the NDP should form the next government over the Liberals (47 per cent) but a significant number of Green Voters are not sure (36 per cent).”

The number of absentee ballots that will be counted between May 22nd and May 24th, according to Elections BC, is 179,380. Meantime, recounts are taking place in several ridings, including a contentious one on Vancouver Island where the NDP candidate won by just nine votes.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today