A poll recently conducted by Research Co. has revealed that a majority of British Columbians prefer political parties that give members the freedom to vote individually.
Far fewer expressed support for the idea that members should vote the same as others in their party, regardless of their constituents desires.
Of the 802 adults surveyed between March 3 and 5, a full three quarters leaned towards preferring parties where "all members are allowed to vote freely." On a scale of one to four — one indicating the most support for block voting and four indicating the most support for free votes — 9% responded one and 43% responded four.
Demographically, older British Columbians were slightly more likely to support members' ability to break ranks with their party, as were those in rural areas.
British Columbians who voted BC NDP in October were less likely than their BC Conservative-supporting counterparts to favour free votes, though it was closer than one might expect given the parties' differing stances on the issue.
From the jump, BC Conservative leader John Rustad made it clear he would give MLAs the ability to vote as they saw fit. The move has had the unintended consequence of laying bare divisions within the party.
"At the end of the day we said we would have free votes and we would be supporting people to be able to have free speech, and that's what this looks like," Rustad said after five BC Conservative MLAs broke ranks and voted against a "Team Canada" tariff response bill tabled by the BC NDP.
Under Premier David Eby, the BC NDP have taken a different approach, expecting MLAs to vote in solidarity with other party members.
In the lead up to the election, BC NDP Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon suggested Rustad's commitment was a threat to the people of the province.
"To kick off his campaign, he's promising to let them vote however they want," Kahlon said. "There’s no way for British Columbians to know if they’re getting an MLA who would advocate to restrict abortion, or vote against laws to protect gay and lesbian British Columbians. That's a risk we can’t afford."
The poll also revealed that 48% of British Columbians think there should be a "centre-right party to serve as an alternative to the BC NDP and the BC Conservatives." Prior to their folding, that spot was filled by the BC United-Liberals.
