The results of our first election poll are in and the numbers are decisive.
Nearly half our respondents (46%) said they’re most concerned about the economy and jobs. Premier Christy Clark has touted the BC Jobs Plan heavily, claiming her government has created more than 150,000 jobs in the province since 2011. But northern BC hasn’t seen much of that prosperity – the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that jobs in our area actually decreased last year.
The second most important issue was a three-way tie. Housing affordability, education and ‘other’ issues each received 13% of the vote.
10% of respondents listed the environment as their top concern and just 4% of participants are most concerned about poverty reduction. BC remains the only province in the country without a poverty reduction plan.
The province’s overdose crisis isn’t much of a concern to our readers – just 2% listed it as their top priority in the election. This might be because northern BC continues to see much lower numbers of fatal and fentanyl-related overdoses than communities farther south.