Canadians divided along political lines over Governor General’s performance
After weeks of critical news stories that prompted Governor General Julie Payette to apologize for how her office’s work has been perceived in its first year and reiterate her commitment to the job, a new public opinion poll from the Angus Reid Institute finds Canadians with an opinion about the matter are more polarized about a traditionally apolitical figurehead and institution than might be expected.
Relatively few are following the news about Payette’s performance closely, but those who are tend to hold more negative views of the Governor General.
While most are unsure how to rate Payette’s performance as the Queen’s representative in Canada after 12 months in the role, the Governor General today enjoys little of the implicit goodwill the institute recorded for her initial nomination to the post last year (at the time, 55 per cent approved of her appointment).
Instead, those who have an opinion on the former astronaut are divided along political lines, with past supporters of the Conservative Party of Canada especially inclined to say she is doing a bad job (41 per cent do) and that she is poorly suited to her current position (47 per cent). Past Liberal and New Democratic Party supporters are less likely to have an opinion on Payette, and those who do have an opinion are more evenly divided. More Key Findings:
Overall, one-in-four Canadians (25 per cent) say Payette “is adjusting and will eventually settle into the role of Governor General.” Most are either uncertain (46 per cent) or skeptical that she is a good fit for her position (29 per cent);
Asked whether they believe the Governor General is doing a good job or a bad one, most Canadians (57 per cent) are not sure, with the rest divided evenly between good (22 per cent) and bad (21 per cent);
Payette enjoys more favourable views in her native Quebec, where one-in-three (33 per cent) say she is doing a good job, compared to 18 per cent who say she is doing a bad one. In every other region, those saying “bad job” outnumber those saying “good job” at least slightly.
The full poll can be viewed at www.angusreid.org/payettegovernor-general-performance