Horgan middling in premiers' pandemic performance poll

B.C. may be at the western end of Canada, but Premier John Horgan is closer to the middle when it comes to a performance of ranking our country's premiers.

The latest Leger poll asking Canadians to weigh in on how provincial leaders are faring saw Horgan land in the middle, with a leadership score of 6.6 out of 10.

When asked how they felt about Horgan's handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic, 59 per cent were satisfied; 53 per cent felt good about Horgan's handling of overall health services.

On the topic of environmental sustainability, however, just 34 per cent said they were satisfied with Horgan's efforts, while 43 per cent are happy with the work he's put into economic recovery.

The leadership score was based on six attributes, including trustworthiness, transparency, decisiveness, communication, compassion and ability to collaborate. On each of those, Horgan ranked between 6.6 and 7.5, with communication being his highest ranked attribute, and transparency and compassion is lowest.

Elsewhere, the poll suggests Prairie premiers are lagging behind their counterparts. Only 30 per cent of respondents in Alberta were satisfied with the job Premier Jason Kenney was doing with the COVID-19 file.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister followed at 31 per cent and Saskatchewan's Scott Moe at 39 per cent.

Just over half of respondents in Ontario felt Premier Doug Ford was doing a good job with the pandemic, while 55 per cent of Quebec respondents felt the same about Francois Legault. Premiers in the Atlantic provinces fared the best, with 78 per cent of Nova Scotians in the poll approving of Premier Stephen McNeil's performance.

The online poll of 3,801 Canadians was conducted Dec. 4 to Dec. 20.