iN NUMBERS: Who do voters want the BC Conservatives to be?

If you follow provincial politics one of the big stories at the moment is the BC Conservative leadership race.

Former leader John Rustad brought the party back from the brink to a strong opposition, but since then several MLAs have defected to sit as independents or start a new political party.

Now, the Conservative party is looking for a new leader and British Columbians are waiting to see what the party’s new direction might look like.

Here are the numbers from a Research Co. poll on where people want the BC Conservatives to go:

• 50: Per cent of people polled in the Southern Interior said they prefer when politicians vote individually rather than as a group.
• 64: Per cent of people polled in the Southern Interior prefer parties who acknowledge Indigenous reconciliation.
• 65: Per cent of people polled in the Southern Interior prefer a party with a more anti-American stance.
• 15: Per cent of people polled in the Southern Interior said that the BC Conservatives should try to be more like the current federal Liberal Party, and 14 per cent said they should be more like the federal Conservative Party.
• 35: Per cent of people polled in the Southern Interior said the Conservative Party of BC is a “free enterprise coalition.”
• 24: Per cent of people polled in the Southern Interior said the next leader of the BC Conservatives is a “premier-in-waiting.”
• 49: Per cent of people polled in the Southern Interior think there needs to be a centre-right party to sit between the BC NDP and the BC Conservatives.
• 45: Per cent of people polled in the Southern Interior think it’s a good idea for OneBC and the BC Conservatives to merge into one party. Some people in the BC Conservatives are gearing up to support the recall campaign for OneBC co-founder Tara Armstrong.
• 14: Per cent of people polled in the Southern Interior said the BC Conservatives shouldn’t run a candidate in the same riding where OneBC has a candidate.