On behalf of BC Business, Mustel Group conducted a poll among residents and businesses across British Columbia to gather opinions on the outcome of the recent snap election.
B.C. residents: We can live with it
When asked how pleased they were with the outcome of the election, residents were fairly evenly split between happy and unhappy, with those over 35 more likely to fall into the latter camp. Couples without children were also more likely to be unhappy with the outcome compared to those who were single and in families.
B.C. businesses: Meh
Most businesses surveyed were unhappy with the election outcome. That sentiment was strongest among those operating outside of Metro Vancouver, with 70 percent expressing discontent.
More than one quarter of business owners said they thought the election outcome will harm the B.C. economy, versus just one in 10 who believed the economy will benefit. Businesses with one or more employees were more likely than sole proprietors to take a negative view.
Overall, businesses took a slightly more negative view than residents on the election result and were less inclined to believe that the outcome would help the provincial economy.
About the general population survey:
This survey was conducted by telephone from October 15 to November 1, 2021 with a random sample of British Columbia residents. A total of 500 residents 18 years of age or older were surveyed. The results have been statistically weighted to match census stats on the basis of age, gender, and region.
The margin of error for a sample size of 500 is +/- 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
About the business survey:
This survey was conducted online with 235 B.C. businesses from September 28 to October 4, using Mustel Group’s proprietary online panel, Giving Opinions.
The margin of error on a sample size of 235 is +/– 6.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.