Housing is by far the most pressing issue in the minds of Vancouverites as they cast their ballots this week, according to an exclusive poll commissioned by CTV News.
Data gathered by Research Co. between Sept. 30 and Oct. 2 shows a whopping 67 per cent of voters said they were most concerned about the city's housing crisis. That's more than twice the combined total of people who chose transportation, poverty, economic development, health care, energy and pipelines, crime or education as their top issue.
Concerns about housing were most prominent among those between the ages of 18 and 34 and those who rent rather than own their homes.
Other factors, such as location and income played a less significant role in the results, and men and women appeared to be equally worried about the issue.
In a separate question asking participants about theirs satisfaction with the current administration's performance when it came to dealing with the housing crisis, 53 per cent of respondents said the city had done a "very bad job" and nearly a third (32 per cent) said it had done a "bad job."
Only one per cent of participants said the government did a "very good job."
“Older people tend to vote (Non-Partisan Association) more, but I think they’re looking at this election through the confines of their children,” Research Co.’s Mario Canseco told CTV.
“Maybe you have a kid who’s come back home because they can’t afford to live in this city.”
This frustration is reflected in how residents think things have changed in the city when it comes to affordability.
Those results were also mirrored in another question that asked respondents if they thought housing affordability was better or worse than it was four years ago. Ninety per cent said the issue had become worse since 2014, and only two per cent thought it had improved.
Transportation and poverty tied as the second-most important issues for those who took the survey at nine per cent.
Only five per cent said they were most concerned about economic development and three per cent were worried about health care and pipelines. Four people chose education as their top election priority.
But these were not the only areas of dissatisfaction among those surveyed.
The majority of respondents said they were dissatisfied when it came to the city's performance when it came to quality of life as well as the influence of developers at City Hall.
Overall, 65 per cent said they agreed most with the statement: "I don't like where Vancouver is going and we need to change course at City Hall."
Research Co.'s results are based on data gathered between Sept. 30 and Oct. 2 among 400 adults in the City of Vancouver and carry a margin of error of 4.9 per cent.