(Unceded Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam territories — Vancouver, BC) As BC's economy reopens, British Columbians overwhelmingly opt for building a better, fairer province over re-creating the economy we had before, a new poll has found.
In a recent poll conducted by polling firm Stratcom for the BC Federation of Labour (BCFED), 72% of respondents from across BC said they prefer making changes for a fairer province over a focus on getting BC back to its pre-pandemic state.
“The pandemic has not only exposed the gaps in our province, but it’s also shown how much we can accomplish when we pull together,” said BCFED president Laird Cronk. “And the overwhelming majority of British Columbians see the economic recovery as a chance to build a better, more inclusive province.”
The same poll saw two-thirds of respondents opting for investments in a fair recovery to put workers and families first over cutting regulations and taxes for businesses to create jobs as quickly as possible.
And 78% of respondents voiced their support for an economic recovery that includes aggressively addressing climate change and reducing pollution.
The poll comes as the BCFED launches its new campaign, geared to mobilizing British Columbians who see the recovery as an opportunity to choose — as the campaign puts it — “A Future For All.”
The BCFED campaign, created with unionized agency Point Blank Creative, includes a new video ad (http://bit.ly/futureforall) as well as a web-based action hub (https://www.FutureForAll.ca) where people can voice their support for measures like universal pharmacare, affordable high-speed Internet, a living wage and more.
“We think it’s important for all those British Columbians to have a chance to speak up for the province and the future they believe in,” BCFED secretary-treasurer Sussanne Skidmore explained. “That’s what this campaign is all about.”
Cronk pointed to a line from the video, “We can rebuild British Columbia around what really matters,” adding, “So far, a lot of the decisions we’ve been making have been about how to survive this pandemic. Now it’s time to start talking about what we’ve learned, and deciding the kind of province we want to build as we reopen.”
These survey questions were part of a larger online poll by Stratcom on a range of topics conducted for the BC Federation of Labour and fielded to a proprietary panel from August 27 to September 2, 2020. The poll has a balanced sample of 2,002 BC adults, statistically weighted to match the gender, age, region and proportion of Chinese mother tongue in BC as per the 2016 Census. While online polls don’t report margin of error, a similar sized probability sample would have a margin of error of +/- 2.2%, 19 times out of 20.
BACKGROUNDER:
STRATCOM OPINION SURVEY FOR BCFED
The following questions were fielded to a proprietary panel from August 27 to September 2, 2020.
Some people say our priority should be getting BC back to the way it was before the pandemic. Other people we should use this opportunity to move forward and make changes to support a fairer, more equal province. Which is closer to your opinion?
Make changes for a fairer province: 71.8%
Back to the way we were: 18.1%
Don’t know: 10.1%
Some people say BC should focus on cutting regulations and taxes on business so they’ll create jobs for British Columbians as fast as possible. Other people say BC needs to work together and make investments for a fair recovery for all: rebuilding our economy to puts workers and families first. Which is closer to your view?
BC needs to put workers and families first: 66.9%
BC should cut regulations and taxes on business: 21.6%
Don't know: 11.5%
Some people support using the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to make big changes to our economy: aggressively reducing carbon emissions, switching to cleaner renewable energy, and investing in things like transit and energy efficiency in order to reduce pollution and address climate change. Do you support or oppose that approach?
Strongly support: 34.8%
Somewhat support: 35.5%
Somewhat oppose: 11.1%
Strongly oppose: 8.8%
Don’t know: 9.9%
These questions were part of a larger poll on a range of topics conducted for the BC Federation of Labour. This online poll by Stratcom has a balanced sample of 2,002 BC adults, statistically weighted to match the gender, age, region and proportion of Chinese mother tongue in BC as per the 2016 Census. While online polls don’t report margin of error, a similar sized probability sample would have a margin of error of +/- 2.2%, 19 times out of 20.
Strategic Communications Inc. (Stratcom) is an award-winning consulting firm that has been designing and implementing strategic research, communications and message development since 1991 for not-for-profit organizations, charities, unions, professional associations, regulatory agencies, governments and government agencies.