Clark should step down if Liberals lose power: poll

Numbers indicate majority of those who voted Green want partnership with NDP

A majority of British Columbians think Christy Clark should step down as leader if her B.C. Liberals cannot form a government, according to a new Insights West poll.

After absentee ballots were counted this week, the B.C. Liberals finished one seat short of a majority in the May 9 election, with 43 seats in the 87-seat legislature. The NDP has 41 seats and the Green party has three.

Clark remains premier and has called for all three parties, “to move forward and form a government.”

“The final result reinforces that British Columbians want us to work together, across party lines, to get things done for them,” she said in a statement.

In an Insights West online survey, 66 per cent of respondents — including 46 per cent of those who voted Liberal — would be in favour of Clark’s ouster if the Liberals fail to form government.

Most respondents, 51 per cent, want the Greens to support the NDP in the B.C. Legislature if a majority government cannot be formed, while just 38 per cent think the Greens should back the Liberals.

Among those who voted Green, 62 per cent said they are in favour of the party supporting the NDP, while just 23 per cent would prefer to back the Liberals.

The poll also revealed British Columbians are not excited about the possibility of holding a new election soon, with 43 per cent responding that they think the next provincial ballot should happen, as scheduled, in May 2021, while only 26 per cent would favour voting again sometime in the next couple of years.

Results are based on an online study conducted by Insights West from May 22 to May 25 among 803 British Columbian adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 per cent.