North Cowichan periodically conducts statistically valid surveys in order to better understand community satisfaction levels with municipal services and to learn what issues are most important.
2026 Citizen Satisfaction Survey
North Cowichan conducted its third Citizen Satisfaction Survey in May 2026. Forum Research Inc. randomly selected and contacted 400 households via random dialling of landlines and cell phones between May 4 and 18, 2026. Results from this sample size are representative of North Cowichan’s residents aged 18 and older, within a margin of error of +/- 5%.
84% of residents rate the overall quality of life in North Cowichan as good or very good
85% of residents are satisfied with the overall level and quality of services provided by the municipality
4% of residents feel that they get good value for their tax dollars.
When asked about satisfaction with specific municipal services, fire protection, parks and trails, and recreation and sports facilities scored the most satisfied. An analysis of overall satisfaction identified that bylaw enforcement, community planning, and development and building permits were the primary areas for improvement.
When asked about local issues most important to residents, the most commonly cited challenges facing the municipality were homelessness (38%), taxes (17%), and community planning, development, and zoning (19%). When asked about their favourite thing about North Cowichan, nature was the most frequent response (13%).
An open link survey was also available, with those results presented separately. These results were not obtained via random sampling and may not be representative.
North Cowichan conducted its second-ever Citizen Satisfaction Survey in June 2022. Forum Research Inc. randomly selected and contacted 404 households via random dialling of landlines and cell phones between June 22 and July 12, 2022. Results from this sample size are representative of North Cowichan’s residents aged 18 and older, within a margin of error of +/- 4.84%.
95% of residents rate the overall quality of life in North Cowichan as good or very good
89% of residents are satisfied with the overall level and quality of services provided by the municipality
79% of residents feel that they get good value for their tax dollars.
When asked about satisfaction with specific municipal services, fire protection, recreation and sports facilities, and drinking water scored the most satisfied. An analysis of overall satisfaction identified that road maintenance, bylaw enforcement, community planning, and development and building permits were the primary areas for improvement.
When asked about local issues most important to residents, the most commonly cited challenges facing the municipality were homelessness (40%), taxes (24%), and lack of affordable/available housing (19%). When asked about their favourite thing about North Cowichan, nature was the most frequent response (31%), as was the same in 2019.
An open link survey was also available, with those results presented separately. These results were not obtained via random sampling and may not be representative.
North Cowichan conducted its first-ever Citizen Satisfaction Survey in June 2019. NRG National Research Group randomly selected and contacted 400 households via telephone between May 29 and June 17, 2019. Results from this sample size are representative of North Cowichan’s entire adult population within a margin of error of +/- 4.9%, 19 times out of 20.
97% of residents rate the overall quality of life in North Cowichan as good or very good
89% of residents are satisfied with the overall level and quality of services provided by North Cowichan
4 in 5 residents feel that they get good value for their tax dollars.
The most commonly cited challenge facing the municipality was improving water quality (22%). Homelessness/drug addiction was the most commonly mentioned subject when asked what local leaders should focus on (17%). And when asked about their favourite thing about North Cowichan, parks/green space/natural beauty was significantly the most frequent response (48%).
An open link survey was also available, with those results presented separately. These results were not obtained via random sampling and may not be representative.
