WINNIPEG -- Manitoba's Premier has the lowest approval rating among Canadian premiers according to a new poll which suggests it has been dropping steadily since the spring.
A new poll from the Angus Reid Institute has asked Canadians from coast to coast what they think of their premiers as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hit the country.
"The trend line also indicates the days of provincial leaders appearing incapable of doing wrong politically – as they did in the spring and summer – are long gone," the poll findings read.
Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister had the lowest approval rating of the nine premiers whose performance respondents were asked to rate, with 32 per cent of residents approving of the premier. This is a 12-point drop since the last quarter.
Of those surveyed, 64 per cent disapproved of Pallister and four per cent were not sure.
"It isn't the poll that matters to me, what matters to me is that we beat COVID," Pallister said during a press conference on Tuesday.
"Basically it tells me that people don't like COVID, and neither do I. We'll stay focused on fighting COVID."
(Source: Angus Reid Institute)
"Manitoba is currently under some of the strictest lockdown measures in the country, with the province asking people to only leave their homes for essentials and restricting private and public gatherings," the poll reads. "Manitoba health officials, alongside Alberta, are dealing with the fastest spread of the virus in the country over the past two weeks on a per capita basis."
While Alberta is in a similar situation to Manitoba, its premier Jason Kenny scored a 40 per cent approval rating – scoring higher than Pallister, but still the second-lowest approval rating of all provinces.
Kenny's approval rating has been dropping steadily for more than a year.
British Columbia Premier John Horgan and his NDP government and Quebec Premier Francois Legault scored the highest ratings in the country, both receiving a 64 per cent approval rating from their constituents.
The margins of error for Manitoba's findings were plus or minus four percentage points.
Angus Reid conducted an online survey between November 24 and 30 among 5,003 Canadian adults, 499 of whom were in Manitoba. The overall margin of error was plus or minus 1.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The poll was commissioned and paid for by the Angus Reid Institute.
