Canadian premiers get low ratings, too

Premier John Horgan has Canada’s highest approval rating among premiers. He shares the honour with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. the rule,” said Kurl.

And indeed, Trudeau now has an approval rating of only 40 per cent, making him precisely as popular with Canadians as Trump is with Americans.

In a country rife with scorned politicians, however, the longtime favourite remains Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne.

Wynne’s approval rating of 18 per cent is so unpopular that she ranks even lower than a number of fringe views such as belief in the Sasquatch or banning all immigration to Canada.

The rock-bottom ratings of Canadian premiers is particularly stark when compared to the surprisingly forgiving approval numbers of U.S. state governors.

Of 50 state governors, 28 have approval ratings of more than 50 per cent, according to data compiled by Morning Consult. This includes nine of the 13 states bordering Canada.

Meanwhile, a mere 16 per cent of U.S. state governors had an approval rating below 40 per cent, compared to 60 per cent of Canadian premiers.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who just left office, ranked at the bottom of the list, with an approval rating so low that no other U.S. state governor has matched it in 20 years. Still, Christie managed to end his governorship one point above Wynne.

Even U.S. president Richard Nixon still had the support of 24 per cent of Americans when he resigned in 1974.

One explanation for the U.S./Canadian approval gap might be the difference in electoral systems. Not only do Americans directly elect their state governors, but a predominantly two party system also means that most governors win election with at least 50 per cent of the popular vote.

Nevertheless, even premiers who took office in a relative landslide are now attracting scorn from their people.

Manitoba’s Brian Pallister is less than two years’ removed from winning one of the largest majorities in the province’s history. Now, his approval is hovering at 37.

Newfoundland and Labrador premier Dwight Ball won election in 2015 with 57.2 per cent of the vote — an unheard-of sweep in larger provinces. Regardless, his approval is at 42.

It might be that Americans are simply unusually fond of their politicians. In Europe, approval ratings of leaders are generally more in line with those of Canada.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has the approval of only 34 per cent of her electorate. France has quickly grown weary of new president Emmanuel Macron, handing him approval ratings of only 44 per cent.

American political enthusiasm quickly dissolves when they are asked to judge their governments in the abstract, however.

Only 18 per cent of U.S. citizens report that they trust the “government in Washington.” U.S. approval of congress, for instance, is at a staggeringly low 15 per cent.

This is the one category in which Canadians actually come out more optimistic than their neighbours. In a recent Edelman poll, a respectable 43 per cent of Canadians reported that they trust their government.