A little over a year on the job and a majority of British Columbians think Premier John Horgan and his government are struggling to handle housing affordability.
In an online survey conducted by Insights West, 54 per cent of those polled believe the NDP is doing either a bad or very bad job to address housing prices and affordability.
On the flip side, 24 per cent say the government is doing either a good job or a very good job.
LISTEN: A new poll from Insights West shows that Premier John Horgan’s approval rating is dipping
The government is also losing traction on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
A majority of those polled, 54 per cent of people, say the government did either a very bad job or bad job dealing with the pipeline. Compare this to the 44 per cent of people who say the NDP have done either a very good job or a good job on the environment.
“After a year of the B.C. NDP being in office, the negative scores on handling the Trans Mountain pipeline issue and the housing crisis have overshadowed the good marks on the environment, education and health care,” said Insights West president Steve Mossop.
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“Usually the economy, jobs and health care top the public agenda, but the stubborn issue of housing prices and affordability has overshadowed anything else by a long shot and, until some measurable change occurs, it will continue to dominate the public agenda.”
WATCH: Premier Horgan approval rating goes up
Health care has received a thumbs up 40 per cent of those polled and the work being done on education has received 41 per cent support. Just 26 per cent of people said the government has done a bad job on education and 33 per cent said health care has been poorly managed. About 30 per cent of people polled weren’t sure on those issues.
The poll was conducted six months after Insights West’s last “BC Government Report Card.”
LISTEN: Calls: what do you think Premier Horgan should do about housing affordability in the province?
The results are based on an online study conducted from July 12 to July 15, 2018, among a representative sample of 1,053 B.C. adults, who are members of the Angus Reid Forum.
The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error is +/- 3.0 percentage points.
Even though the government is losing steam on the housing affordability issue, it is not having a major impact on the way the public views the NDP or Horgan. Horgan’s own public approval numbers are slipping, but is still get positive scores from 47 per cent of those polled. That approval number is down from 53 per cent six months ago.
“If you look at polls across Canada and you compare his rating, he is at the top of the list. Yes it’s a dip by 6 per cent but it is still tops in the country,” said Mossop. “We have seen in other jurisdictions after the honeymoon period drops of 5 to 15 points. So to drop just 6 points shows he is doing exceptionally well considering he wasn’t elected with a majority government.”
When it comes to voting intention, the NDP are in first place with the support of 37 per cent of decided voters, followed by the B.C. Liberals at 32 per cent, the B.C. Greens at 17 per cent and the B.C. Conservatives with 12 per cent.