Most Canadian premiers have seen their approval ratings dip since June after skyrocketing in the early days of the pandemic, a new poll states.
The poll, which was conducted by market researcher Maru/BLUE, gauged the opinions of 5,344 Canadians toward respective premiers between Aug. 28 and Sept. 8 and compared the findings with similar data collected in early June.
The poll includes a margin of error of 1.6 percentage points.
With the exception of Manitoba premier Brian Pallister, whose ratings had increased by nine per cent, all provincial leaders saw their ratings dip, some by almost 15 percentage points.
John Horgan, the premier of British Columbia, holds the highest approval rating of 69 per cent, a drop of two percentage points.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney holds the lowest rating at 47 per cent, one percentage point lower than his ratings three months ago.
Only three premiers, including Kenney hold a rating below 50 per cent — Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil, who holds a 49 percent rating after a drop of 14 percentage points, and Andrew Furey, who was elected premier of Newfoundland and Labrador in early August and holds a rating of 48 percent.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who won the trust of his residents in the early days of the pandemic for his quick responses to slowing the infection rate and his daily news briefings, currently holds an approval rating of 56 per cent, a six percentage point drop since June.
The drop in ratings don’t necessarily spell bad news for the premiers; rather they reflect the public’s changing perspective on their leader’s responses to the pandemic depending on ‘elements of recovery and predictability,” explains John Wright, vice president of Maru/BLUE.
“In the first quarter of the response to the pandemic, the public judged them like the stewards of a lifeboat in a sink or swim environment,” he told the National Post in an email. “And by all accounts every premier won the trust and support of the population they lead.”
“By the end of the second quarter, citizens had caught their breath, comprehending the extent of the impact of the virus and feeling some measure of stability and security for the first time,” he added.
As a result, the formula needed to maintain public approval tightened up. Now, premiers are judged based on their ability to steer their provinces towards a “new normal with continuing prudence coupled with economic and personal financial stimulus,” Wright said.
Premier Pallister, he said, caught an “upwards swing” in his approval ratings after his government boosted programs that brought back laid-off workers and increased financial support for businesses.
While the ratings slid for other premiers, they still “enjoy healthy margins of approval,” reads the study, which could be instrumental to helping them secure a new mandate.
New Brunswick Premier Higgs, for example, won a majority in a September election despite an approval rating of 55 per cent, a 16 per cent drop from that recorded in June.
In the remaining quarter for the year, Wright predicted that leaders, both provincial and federal, will focus on “retooling the entire fiscal and service provisions” to accommodate the billions of dollars spent to help Canadians survive the pandemic, rather than build the economy.
And this retooling could come back as a reckoning for premiers, Wright warned.
“F or some premiers, cashing in their approval chips now for a full mandate may be the best strategy they have. It may never be as good as it has been for a very long time to come,” he said.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
