A new poll conducted by Canadian market research company Léger is shedding light on how residents of British Columbia feel about the state of the downtown cores of their respective cities -- or perhaps just putting a number to something we already know.
According to the poll, published last week, 54% of British Columbia residents believe that their downtown core has declined over the last year. Léger defines "downtown core" as the downtown area of the closest major city.
That number puts British Columbians as one of the most dissatisfied provinces with their downtown core, topped only by residents of Manitoba and Saskatchewan (grouped together in the survey), where 58% of residents believed their downtown core has declined. All other provinces included in the poll (with the four Atlantic provinces grouped together) were between 47% and 37%.
Specific to British Columbia, 31% believe their downtown core has "significantly declined", while 22% believe it has "somewhat declined."
The poll also surveyed respondents about potential factors in this decline. Of the provided options, 99% of respondents from British Columbia said that "mental health challenges for vulnerable populations" was a factor in the decline. "Rising crime rates" was attributed as a factor by 98%, "homelessness" and "drug addiction" by 97%, and "lack of safety" by 96%. Other possible factors were "lack of affordable housing for vulnerable populations" and "cleanliness", which received 93% and 88%, respectively. All of those numbers are the highest of all provinces or second to Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Additionally, 55% and 53% of BC residents said "lack of activities to participate in downtown" and "lack of people working downtown" were factors in the decline, both of which were actually the lowest of all provinces. To put it simply: the good parts of downtown Vancouver are pretty good, but the bad parts of it are pretty bad.
Elsewhere on the poll, respondents were surveyed about their job security for the next 12 months. About 30% of BC residents are concerned about losing their job, while 33% said they were likely to quit themselves. Respondents were also asked about their current work situations. 48% of respondents said their current job allows them to work from home, but 43% said they would return to the office, if mandated.
A total of 1,509 Canadians participated in the Léger poll, 151 of whom were from British Columbia.
