After 11 years of bringing you local reporting, the team behind the Vancouver Observer has moved on to Canada's National Observer. You can follow Vancouver culture reporting over there from now on. Thank you for all your support over the years!

Mario Canseco

Mario Canseco is Vice President, Public Affairs, at Insights West. Mario is responsible for designing and managing research projects for clients in the public sector, non-profit organizations and associations, and education. Mario is also the company’s spokesperson for political and sociological issues and surveys, and writes every two weeks for the Business Section of The Vancouver Sun. Before joining Insights West in 2013, Mario coordinated research teams for a now-defunct public opinion firm that operated in Canada, the United States and Britain, worked as an editorial researcher for Peter C. Newman’s books “The Secret Mulroney Tapes” and “Here Be Dragons”; as a research and communications specialist for the Liu Institute for Global Issues at UBC; and in various journalistic roles in Canada, Mexico and Spain. Mario holds a BA in Communication from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, and a Masters in Journalism from UBC.

A Multicultural “Calculation” for the Conservatives

Tories once used moral values to win over immigrants - but foreign-born Vancouverites are now choosing the NDP or Liberals - leaving the Conservatives trailing third.
Mario CansecoOct 6th, 2015

What's motivating voters in British Columbia?

Leaders, candidates, ideas, and emotions including a desire for stability, change, and a small dollop of disgust are driving B.C. voters to the polls this election.
Mario CansecoSep 12th, 2015
Federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair at the Vancouver Art Gallery. CP file photo

How low can Harper's B.C. numbers go?

A new Insights West poll indicates Conservatives are in deep trouble in B.C. as their support collapses to 22 per cent.
Mario CansecoAug 25th, 2015
Northern Gateway protest; Kinder Morgan sign

Most British Columbians oppose the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline

Less than half reject the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain expansion, according to a new Insights West poll.
Mario CansecoAug 7th, 2015

BC evolving away from Creationism

Almost four months have passed since James Lunney, the Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Alberni, decided to quit the Conservative Party caucus due to what he described as “a deliberate attempt to...
Mario CansecoJul 23rd, 2015
UBC students line up for B-Line bus service. Creative Commons photo

Mario Canseco: Seven lessons from the defeated transit plebiscite

The perception of a bloated, ineffective and inefficient TransLink was more powerful than any grandiose vision of the future.
Mario CansecoJul 2nd, 2015