Last month, Research Co. reviewed the status of provincial politics in British Columbia.

Our survey showed the governing B.C. NDP with a six-point lead over the opposition Conservative Party of B.C. among decided voters (44 per cent to 38 per cent), as well as sizeable advantages for Premier David Eby on the approval and “best premier” questions over opposition leader John Rustad.

In June 2024, when BC United was still a functioning political party and the B.C .Conservatives were starting to rise, we asked British Columbians about their ideology and what they perceived from the contending parties and their leaders. Seventeen months later, the needle has not moved much for the B.C. New Democrats—53 per cent of British Columbians (unchanged) regard the party as centre left, left or extreme left and 51 per cent (up three points) feel the same way about Eby.

For the B.C. Conservatives, the fluctuations are similar. More than three in five of the province’s residents see the party (64 per cent, up three points) and Rustad (62 per cent, up four points) as centre right, right or extreme right. That is happening at a time when more than a third of British Columbians (36 per cent, up three points) regard themselves as centrists.

Rustad currently faces a unique dilemma. Whatever he attempts to address on social issues, OneBC will vow to do more. Voters who are concerned about the official opposition becoming........

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