Things aren’t looking great for the BC NDP if polls are any indication, as the Conservatives have taken quite the lead in voter intent, despite not having an official leader yet.
New data from the Angus Reid Institute shows the BC Conservatives leading the BC NDP by 10 points in vote intention.
Angus Reid
“The flight of support from the BC NDP comes as the future of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) remains ambiguous after Eby and the BC NDP decided not to pursue suspending the legislation this spring after the suggestion was met with anger from the province’s First Nations,” the Angus Reid Institute said in a release.
Meanwhile, the five candidates vying for Conservative leadership are all aligned on their calls to repeal DRIPA, a move that almost half (47 per cent) of B.C. residents support, “including a sizable minority” of residents who voted for BC NDP in 2024.
The BC Conservatives will be deciding their next leader on May 30.
Angus Reid’s findings show that B.C. residents are divided on reconciliation efforts. Two-in-five respondents said enough work has been done, while over half (51 per cent) disagreed. One-third of respondents feel there’s still a “lot” of work left.
Angus Reid
Two-in-five respondents believe that DRIPA gives First Nations veto rights on land development.
Angus Reid found that the belief that DRIPA gives veto power to First Nations over developments is most likely to be held by those who voted Conservative in 2024 (60 per cent) than those who voted NDP (27 per cent).
Angus Reid has collected data on Indigenous issues in the past.
In a 2015 Angus Reid study, many residents supported recommendations made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, including 80 per cent of respondents saying that Indigenous history, including residential schools, should be a part of the K–12 school curriculum.
Most respondents in the 2015 study also supported increasing federal funding for on-reserve education.
Respondents might be divided on reconciliation, but they’re not so divided when it comes to the provincial leader.
Earlier this year, Angus Reid data showed that B.C. Premier David Eby’s popularity was tanking, and this most recent release from the independent research non-profit shows him slipping even further.
In March 2026, Eby’s approval rating sat at 37 per cent, and since then, it has dropped to 33 per cent.