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.
