Poll shows high approval rating for B.C. premier during COVID-19 pandemic

Seven in 10 B.C. residents approve of Premier John Horgan’s response to the COVID19 pandemic, according to a new poll Thursday.

The Angus Reid Institute poll, which analyzed the approval ratings of all of Canada’s premiers among their own constituents, found Horgan’s approval rating at 71 per cent for May, the third highest in the country behind the New Brunswick and Quebec premiers.

That’s a significant jump in approval since February, when an Angus Reid survey found the B.C. premier’s approval at just 46 per cent. Angus Reid says Horgan’s job performance managing the coronavirus outbreak has led the recovery 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 with a 69 per cent approval rating in May, up from just 31 per cent approval 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 Premier Blaine Higgs. Four in five residents of New Brunswick say they approve of Higgs’s performance, up 32 points from February.

Two of Canada’s Conservative premiers failed to break majority approval, according to the poll. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is approved of by just 48 per cent of Albertans, while Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister was at 47 per cent approval.

The Angus Reid Institute poll of 5,001 Canadian adults, conducted from May 19 to May 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 is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.