Mario Canseco: poll on housing

BC voters support provincial intervention, split on whether it'll be effective

With Eby and Rustad tied on economic leadership, housing will be key. Mario Canseco, Business in Vancouver. “Housing is top of mind for voters in this election but it is an extremely difficult issue to campaign on.”

A couple interesting points. On voters making housing a top priority:

For many, the B.C. elections of 2005 and 2009 were effectively plebiscites about economic management. This year, the situation is different.

The rise of housing, homelessness and poverty as a concern is truly unique. In May 2020, only 17 per cent thought this was the most important issue facing the province.

In our final survey before the 2020 provincial election, concerns about housing, homelessness and poverty rose to 23 per cent. Two years later, the proportion reached 38 per cent. In surveys conducted in May, June, July and September of this year, at least 40 per cent of British Columbians have felt this way.

There’s strong public support for provincial intervention, but voters are split on whether it’ll work:

Housing is an extremely difficult issue to campaign on. Voters are essentially asked to choose between visions and look into the future, with projects taking years to be finalized. Still, the measures implemented by the BC NDP governments led by John Horgan and David Eby are not contentious.

Few British Columbians believe the provincial government overstepped its boundaries by compelling municipal administrations to meet established housing targets. Only 14 per cent of residents think their municipal government should reject this demand. Practically three in four (74 per cent) would prefer to accept and act.

At this point, British Columbians are divided on whether the actions of the provincial government will be effective (43 per cent) or ineffective (also 43 per cent) in making housing more affordable.