BC Post Election Priorities for Economic Recovery
Vancouver BC, December 1, 2020 — Ipsos conducted a survey of British Columbians on behalf of the Business Council of B.C. The survey examined topics including the financial/economic worries of British Columbians, as well as views of the role of business and government in COVID economic recovery.
Economic/Financial Worries
Most British Columbians are at least somewhat worried about macro-economic issues over the next 1-2 years, such as government’s ability to maintain programs and not increase taxes (83% very or somewhat worried), as well as the overall BC economy (79% very or somewhat worried). Seven-in-ten (70%) are also very or somewhat worried about the availability of good jobs for British Columbians.
At a more personal level, nearly six-in-ten (58%) are very or somewhat worried about their own personal financial situation over the next 1-2 years. Almost half (46%) are very or somewhat worried about a loss of job or income within their household.
These more personal worries are especially strong among residents under the age of 55 years.
- 68% of those under 55 years are very/somewhat worried about their own personal/financial situation, compared to only 42% of those 55 years and older.
- 59% of those under 55 years are very/somewhat worried about their loss of job/income in their household, compared to only 27% of those 55 years and older.
Agreement with Statements
With British Columbians worried about government finances, it should not be surprising that 85% of residents agree that ‘the BC provincial government needs to have a plan to return to a balanced budget once the COVID pandemic is over’ and 79% agree that ‘I am worried that the BC provincial government will need to raise taxes or debt in order to pay for its election promises.’
British Columbians want the provincial government to do more to help BC businesses, with 81% agreeing that ‘the BC provincial government needs to do more to support business efforts to invest and create jobs in British Columbia.’ Residents believe that in-turn, a strong business sector can help government deliver on its commitments, as 68% agree ‘the BC provincial government can't deliver effective programs and services unless BC businesses are thriving.’
Support for Economic Recovery Ideas
The survey also tested several ideas put forward by the BC business community to encourage and speed up the recovery of jobs, investment and the provincial economy. Each of the following ideas was supported by roughly two-thirds of British Columbians.
- 69% support the idea to ‘put maximum time limits in place to speed up municipal government approval times for residential housing developments’
- 66% support the idea ‘to streamline government's regulatory review and enforcement processes by moving from a paper-based process to a fully digital process’
- 66% support the idea to ‘quicken project review/permitting times in order to accelerate infrastructure projects’
- 65% support the idea to ‘institute a freeze on any new administrative, regulatory or policy changes that increase costs for businesses to support the economic recovery process’
A lower percentage, but still a majority of British Columbians (54%) say they support the PST reform idea to ‘in the next few years, replace the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) with a made-in-BC value added tax that captures a wider array of goods/services, but at a lower rate than the current 7%’
About the Study
These are the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of the Business Council of British Columbia. The poll of 801 adult (18+) British Columbians was conducted online via the Ipsos I-Say Panel from November 2 to 6, 2020. These data were statistically weighted by region, age, gender and education to ensure the sample composition reflects that of the actual BC population according to Census data. The precision of Ipsos polls containing online data is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the overall poll (n=801) is accurate to within +/- 4.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all British Columbia adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Kyle Braid
SVP, Ipsos Public Affairs
office 778.373.5130
cell 604.788.2417
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