VANCOUVER — Those who want to replace our voting system in B.C. hold a double-digit lead over supporters of the current electoral system, a new province-wide poll has found.

But while 57 per cent of British Columbians want proportional representation — in which the number of seats more closely reflects the popular vote — they’re split over the B.C. NDP’s path toward a referendum on a still-undetermined question this fall, according to an Angus Reid Institute survey released Wednesday.

Only 43 per cent of respondents support the current first-past-the-post voting system. Unlike the two previous referenda that required 60 per cent to pass, the NDP has stated the vote will require a simple majority.

“Support for proportional representation is very different depending on your political perspective,” said Shachi Kurl, the Institute’s executive director, in a phone interview. “If you are a B.C. Liberal voter, you’re far more likely to be vehemently opposed to a change in electoral systems than if you’re a past NDP or Green voter.”

One area where voters are split on the issue is how the NDP is going about setting up the referendum. Faced with B.C. Liberal accusations the government is trying to bring in a system that favours the NDP, just over half polled said they trust the province to come up with a ballot question that’s fair — and just under half did not have faith in a fair question.

That’s not the only area that B.C. remains deeply divided one year after the razor-tight 2017 election, when the B.C. Liberals lost their majority after 16 years in power by a mere 1,566 votes.

According to the wide-ranging survey, B.C. is also split on a wide range of issues, with stark polarization between its coastal urban centres and the Interior, as well as divisions over what respondents said were the top issues — housing affordability was most important to half in B.C.; followed by the Kinder Morgan pipeline, which was top issue for four-in-ten respondents.

“The polarization of British Columbians on almost every key ballot question in the province today is really quite breathtaking,” Kurl said.

One thing many respondents did agree on, however: the largest group, representing 42 per cent, think B.C. is “on the wrong track,” while just 29 per cent say it’s on the right track. (A similar number said they aren’t sure.)

“But there isn’t even consensus among those folks about why” the province is headed in the wrong direction, Kurl noted. Perhaps predictably, a large majority (69 per cent) of B.C. Liberal voters overwhelmingly disapprove of the NDP’s direction.

But of the NDP and Greens’ own supporters, only 49 and 39 per cent respectively felt the province was headed in the right direction, even though the minority NDP is governing thanks to an alliance with the Greens.

“This government is carrying the expectations of a lot of people,” Kurl said. “Obviously, some haven’t seen the kind of change they were looking for.”

For instance, B.C. Liberal voters opposed the NDP’s efforts to stop the Kinder Morgan pipeline, but even some of the NDP and Green backers felt B.C. hadn’t done enough.

More Greens opposed the B.C. government’s pipeline handling (51 per cent) than support it (44 per cent).

Just 54 per cent of NDP voters supported their government’s handling of Kinder Morgan; a significant minority — four-in-ten — said they don’t approve.

Overall on the pipeline, the B.C. NDP drew most praise in the City of Vancouver, where 52 per cent backed its stance. But everywhere else, more than half opposed the government handling on the issue, most strongly outside the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. In the rest of B.C., 65 per cent disapproved of the NDP, and just 28 per cent support it.

Another divide was generational: voters over 55 years old tended to oppose the NDP’s pipeline approach, compared to younger voters under 34 years old.

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However, Premier John Horgan holds a far higher approval rating than B.C. Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson, who has a 26-point approval to Horgan’s 47 per cent. And one-in-three British Columbians approve of Green leader Andrew Weaver, who holds the balance of power in the province.

The survey of 809 adults had a margin of error of 3.4 per cent, and was conducted May 4-7.

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