Support for South Okanagan national park on the wane, survey says

PENTICTON – A new poll on the proposed national park in the South Okanagan-Similkameen indicates residents are showing decreasing support. At the same time, growing numbers of residents want to see a referendum on the proposal.

The South Okanagan Similkameen Preservation Society says in a media release it recently commissioned a survey with Innovative Research Group. The phone interviews took place in December 2018 and involved 300 residents of the South Okanagan and Similkameen in communities near proposed park boundaries.

The survey found 35 per cent of those asked are strongly opposed to the park with only 27 per cent in strong support, the release states. The poll’s finding contradict those of a 2010 poll conducted by McAllister Opinion Research, in which 69 per cent of respondents were in favour of a national park.

Support for a referendum on the park is on the rise, with three out of four survey responders indicating a desire for a vote on the national park reserve, according to the release.

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