Maintaining a lead
Eight out of 10 Islanders satisfied with current provincial government
The minority Progressive Conservative government of Dennis King continues to enjoy an unusually high level of public support on P.E.I.
A new poll by Narrative Research shows that 81 per cent of those polled are either mostly or completely satisfied with the performance of the King-led government. A November poll by Narrative Research found 77 per cent were satisfied with the government.
According to Narrative Research CEO Margaret Brigley, the satisfaction level is the highest seen by any government since 2003.
Fewer than half of voters in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were satisfied with the performance of the MacNeil and Higgs governments, while only 40 per cent of respondents expressed satisfaction with the government of Dwight Ball in Newfoundland and Labrador.
"P.E.I. is in a better place than the other Atlantic provinces in a number of key measures," Brigley said.
"P.E.I. has the highest consumer confidence level in Atlantic Canada."
P.E.I. also continues to lead the region in terms of economic and population growth.
In terms of party preference, 45 per cent of decided voters supported the Progressive Conservatives. This represents an increase from November, when PC support was at 38 per cent, but is on par with polling from August. The provincial Green party dipped to 28 per cent among decided voters, down from 29 per cent in November and from 37 per cent in August. The Liberals also saw their support diminish to 21 per cent, down from 26 per cent in November but up from 16 per cent in August.
The provincial NDP remained at six per cent, the same level as November, but up from one per cent in August.
Dennis King remained the top choice as premier, with 38 per cent support. This is up from 36 per cent in November and August. Peter BevanBaker was the top choice of 31 per cent of Islanders, up slightly from November (30 per cent) but down from August (33 per cent).
Sonny Gallant was the top choice of 11 per cent of Islanders, the same level as November. Robert Mitchell, the previous interim leader of the Liberals, was the top choice of 12 per cent of Islanders in August. Joe Byrne of the NDP is currently the preferred premier of six per cent of Islanders.
It remains unclear if the Progressive Conservatives are receiving the most credit for the more collegial tone seen in the P.E.I. legislature.
"They're getting some credit for it. I don't know if it's fair to say they're getting all of the credit," Brigley said.
"While (King) still continues to be the leader most preferred, Peter Bevan-Baker is in a good place as well."
Brigley added that the Liberals, in the midst of a quiet leadership race, do not appear to have made significant inroads since being ousted from office last spring.
Brigley cautioned that the coming turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic could prove to be a significant test for the PC government.
The poll was conducted between Feb. 3 and 19 with 300 adult residents of P.E.I. The overall margin of error is +/- 5.7 percentage points, 95 times out of 100.
The questions about party preference were asked of 207 decided voters and are accurate within +/- 6.8 percentage points, 95 times out of 100.