BC PULSE – Still-leaderless B.C. Conservatives open up 10-point lead amid DRIPA issue

47% of British Columbians, including 26% NDP voters, say they back Conservative call to repeal DRIPA

By ANGUS REID INSTITUTE

May 5, 2026 – It’s been a rough 2026 for the governing BC NDP and new data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds it falling further behind the opposition in vote intent. The BC Conservatives, weeks away from deciding who will lead the party, lead the BC NDP by 10 points in vote intention. Meanwhile, Premier David Eby’s approval has fallen from a majority level seen in March 2025 (53%) to 33 per cent now.

The flight of support from the BC NDP comes as the future of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) remains ambiguous after Eby and the BC NDP decided not to pursue suspending the legislation this spring after the suggestion was met with anger from the province’s First Nations.

The five remaining BC Conservative leadership candidates have been unanimous in their call to repeal DRIPA. Half (47%) in the province support such a move, including a sizable minority (26%) of those who voted for the BC NDP in the 2024 provincial election.

There are also evidently many questions about the government’s efforts on reconciliation as the province sorts through the fallout of recent agreements and court decisions on Aboriginal title. Two-in-five (41%) believe enough work has been done on reconciliation and no more is needed; half (51%) disagree, including one-third (34%) who perceive there is still “a lot” of work to be done.

More Key Findings:

• A majority (55%) in the province are of the view that Eby has done a “bad job” balancing Aboriginal title with private property rights in the province. Those who voted BC NDP in 2024 are less critical but offer mixed reviews at best (41% good job, 34% bad job).

• More in the province believe DRIPA gives First Nations veto rights on land development on their claimed territory (39%) than not (26%).

• Half (51%) believe the province’s economy will be “worse off” under DRIPA in the future.

Link to the poll here: www.angusreid.org/

Download .PDF with detailed tables, graphs and methodology.