March 7, 2017 @ 8:00 AM | Filed under: Uncategorized

BC Voters Strongly in Favour of Campaign Finance Reform

Majority in favour of disallowing corporate and union donations, capping individual donations

Toronto, March 2nd– In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 1,061 British Columbia voters, the majority are strongly supportive of sweeping changes to political campaign finance rules: three quarters are in favour of disallowing corporate donations to political parties (73%), almost seven-in-ten believe unions should be disallowed to donate to political parties (68%), and (71%) believe there should be a limit on the amount private individuals should be allowed to donate to political parties.

Corporate donations strongly opposed

Those most likely to oppose corporate donations include those under the age of 34 (77%), those aged 35-44 (76%), those earning $60,000-$80,000 (81%), and the highly educated, with those who completed some college or university (74%), those who have a college or university degree (74%), and those with a post-graduate degree (78%).

NDP (85%) and Green (85%) supporters are most opposed, while just over half (55%) of Liberal supporters, and two-thirds of Conservative (66%) supporters see corporate donations negatively.

Liberal supporters (34%) are most likely to say corporate donations should be allowed.

Union Donations slightly less opposed, but only just

Those most likely to oppose union donations aged 35-44 (71%), 45-54 (72%), 65 and over (72%), those earning $60,000-$80,000 (72%) and $80,000-$100,000 (71%), and those with a post graduate degree (77%). Green Party (78%) supporters and the residents of Vancouver Island (74%) are also likely to oppose.

Limits needed on individual contributions

Those most likely to support contribution limits for individuals include those aged 35-44 (76%), those earning $60,000-$80,000 (79%), $80,000-$100,000 (77%), and those with a post graduate degree (81%). Supporters of the NDP (82%) are considerably more likely to see limits imposed than supporters of other parties.

Those most likely to disagree that individual contributions should be limited include those aged 34 and below (26%), the least wealthy (32%), the least educated (28%), and Conservative supporters (31%).

“The recent publicity surrounding BC’s campaign finance laws has caught the attention of the province’s voters and it’s clear they support comprehensive reform. The overwhelming public opinion on the issue may present an opportunity for the party that takes it up,” said Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research.

Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.