Most British Columbians oppose $789M museum upgrade, poll shows

A new poll by the Angus Reid Institute hasfound that 69 per centof British Columbians oppose the $789-million plan torebuild the Royal B.C. Museum, and while support for the B.C. NDP government appears to be waning, the party continues to hold a strong lead over theopposition B.C. Liberals.

The museum upgrade,announced in May, includes plans to demolish and rebuild themuseumin Victoria over the course of nearly a decade.

Critics hammered the government on the high price for the upgrade,pointing out that B.C. is dealing with a family doctor shortage, skyrocketing gas prices and an affordability crisis.

The poll has found that 27 per cent of respondents are "opposed" to the plan and42 per cent are "strongly opposed." Only 22 per cent indicated they were in support of the project.

"It's pretty striking in terms of consensus," said Angus Reid president SchachiKurl. "There's a great deal of opposition to this particular project."

The poll also shows thata majority of respondents feel thegovernment has done a poor job of handlingissues of housing affordability, costof living,homelessness and the toxic drug crisis.

Housing, cost of living bigger concerns

Following criticism over plans to rebuild the museum, theprovince released more than2,300 partially redacted pagesof reports and appendices supporting the contentious project, and to explainwhy a completerebuild is necessary.

But Kurl said thathasn't managed to persuade British Columbians, who largely don't see the project as a priority and question why the government does.

Kurl said data from the institute shows that people in the province are concerned about the cost of living, inflation, health care and housing affordability.

"A lot of people are pushing back and questioning at a time when those moneys could be spent on things that are more important, why are they being spent on the museum?" Kurl said on the CBC's On the Island.

The poll also shows more than halfof respondents feel the government is doing a "poor" or "very poor"job on issues of the environment and climate change, and the economy and jobs.

B.C. Liberals still trail NDP government

Despite the criticisms, 42 per cent of respondents said they would vote for the B.C. NDPif an election were held, while 31 per cent said they would vote for the B.C. Liberals.

That is, however, the lowest percentage for the NDP since February 2020, and an eight percentage-point drop from June last year.

Premier John Horganis still relatively popular, according to the poll, with 48 per cent of respondents viewing him favourably, compared to23 per cent who feel the same way about new B.C. Liberal Party leader Kevin Falcon.

Falcon, who won the leadership race for his party earlier this year, has promised to renew and rebuild the party in a "root-to-branch'' process that includes a process that could see the Liberalschange their namein an attempt to connect with a wider coalition of voters.

The survey was conducted online from June 7 to 13, among a randomized sample of 615 B.C. adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes, the margin of error is plus or minusfourper cent, 19 times out of 20.