Premier’s approval rating soars during crisis, poll says

Seven in 10 B.C. residents approve of Premier John Horgan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new poll.

The Angus Reid Institute poll says Horgan’s 71 per cent approval rating in May was third highest in the country behind only the premiers of New Brunswick and Quebec.

That’s a significant improvement for Horgan since February, when an Angus Reid survey put the B.C. premier’s approval rating at just 46 per cent. Angus Reid says Horgan’s job performance in managing the coronavirus outbreak has sparked the improvement after a dip in approval due to the Wet’suwet’en protests against the Coastal GasLink pipeline earlier this year.

Following Horgan is Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who boasts a 69 per cent approval rating in May, up from just 31 per cent in February. Angus Reid attributes this to a change in character some have dubbed the “new Doug Ford.”

The premier with the highest approval rating, according to the poll, is New Brunswick’s Blaine Higgs. Four in five residents of New Brunswick say they approve of Higgs’ performance, up 32 points from February.

The news wasn’t good for two of Canada’s Conservative premiers.

Just 48 per cent of Albertans approve of Premier Jason Kenney’s performance, while Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister sits at 47 per cent approval.

The Angus Reid Institute poll of 5,001 Canadian adults, conducted from May 19-24, carries an overall margin of error of plus or minus 1.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The margin of error varies for each province, and for B.C., it’s plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.