A recently-commissioned public opinion poll shows major dissatisfaction with the B.C. Liberals in the Sea to Sky corridor, and indicates that Green Party candidate Dennis Perry may have a good chance of winning the Liberal stronghold of West Vancouver-Garibaldi in next month's provincial election.
The poll by Robbins SCE Research of Coquitlam polled 1,000 residents of the riding, including 600 in West Vancouver, 200 in Squamish and 200 in Whistler, between March 1 and March 13. The final results were adjusted to reflect the population in each area. The survey has a margin of error of up to 2.37 per cent 19 times out of 20 and was paid for in part by the Coalition to Save Eagle Bluffs at Horseshoe Bay and the Western Residents Association of West Vancouver. Perry was president of the coalition at the time the survey was commissioned. He stepped down from the position last week when he announced his intention to seek the Green Party nomination.
According to the poll, 55 per cent of those surveyed agreed with the statement "Frankly, I am tired of both the BC Liberal and NDP political parties and would be able to see another party or independent represent my riding."
According to the poll's commentary, voters in Whistler (65 per cent) and Squamish (60 per cent) were more likely to agree with the statement, while voters in West Vancouver were split roughly 50/50.
A larger split between West Vancouver and the Sea to Sky corridor came when the pollster asked if Premier Gordon Campbell's BC Liberal government has been forthright and honest with the citizens of B.C. over the past four years.
Overall, 49 per cent of those surveyed said yes, 41 per cent said no, while 10 per cent were undecided. However, in Whistler two thirds of respondents said Campbell had not been forthright and honest, as did 58 per cent of those in Squamish. In West Vancouver, 55 per cent said Campbell had been honest.
"Clearly the 55 per cent of respondents in West Vancouver are currently holding the sway for Premier Campbell and his government," pollster Glen Robbins wrote in his commentary.
Nearly 70 per cent of those surveyed said that the government's decision to sell BC Rail was not the correct decision. In Squamish, more than 80 per cent of respondents disagreed with the decision to sell BC Rail while more than 75 per cent of Whistler respondents disagreed. In West Vancouver, 63 per cent of those surveyed said it was a bad decision.
Overall, the survey found health is the most important issue for voters in the riding, with 48 per cent of those surveyed picking it as the most important element of the economy, followed by sustainable environment (29 per cent), education (15 per cent) and a balanced budget (10 per cent).
Sustainable environment was the top choice in Whistler (45 per cent), compared to 24 per cent in Squamish and 26 per cent in West Vancouver.
Fifty-five per cent of those surveyed support the construction of a four-lane tunnel rather than a four-lane overland highway at Horseshoe Bay for environmental reasons, while 59 per cent said the government should take no action on what route to take until after the provincial election. On this question, Whistler respondents supported the tunnel even more strongly than West Vancouver - 62 per cent to 55 per cent - while less than 40 per cent of those surveyed in Squamish support the tunnel option.
The survey also asked if Perry was more credible on the highway issue than Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon. Overall, Perry scored higher than Falcon (41 pr cent to 31 per cent), with 24 per cent saying neither and 10 per cent undecided.
Squamish residents were more than twice as likely to pick Perry as more credible than Falcon, while Perry was more credible by a third than Falcon in Whistler. In West Vancouver, Perry was narrowly ahead of Falcon (37 per cent to 31.5 per cent).
"Although Gordon Campbell is well liked in this riding and specifically West Vancouver, his Cabinet Minister currently responsible for the Sea-to-Sky Highway is not," the poll's commentary reads. "The MLA for the riding has been missing in action since his marriage and purge from Cabinet, and neither the Premier nor any of his Cabinet Ministers since Judith Reid are perceived to have been working in this riding since the 2010 Olympic Games were awarded. The result has been an opportunity for the Eagle Bluff advocacy for a tunnel over a highway to gain momentum."
The survey commentary also states that Perry could challenge the B.C. Liberals in this riding if he were to run. (At the time of the release of the survey, Perry had not declared his candidacy).
"We can only reasonably hypothesize that if it did happen, the seat could be a challenge for the B.C. Liberals to keep," Robbins writes. "Respondents in this survey believe that their MLA has been missing, and no other B.C. Liberals have really been working the riding the way they ought to have. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon is not high credibility here, and local conservative and environmentalist Dennis Perry could create some dynamic political action if he were to run for this seat in Canada's wealthiest neighbourhood."
