The Premier of British Columbia currently has the highest approval rating out of any Premier in Canada, according to a survey released Monday morning.
According to the latest Angus Reid Institute survey report, Premier John Horgan currently has an approval rating of 69 per cent, mostly attributed to how he and his government has handled the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Institute’s analysis puts forth the notion that his popularity may be driven by low COVID-19 hospitalization rates in B.C.
“As younger residents drive much of the province’s rising trend in COVID-19 case numbers and tune out public health officials, Horgan recently reached out to B.C-born celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Seth Rogen in an effort to change the message,” reads the report.
“The popularity of the Premier has led to speculation that a fall election may be called.”
Horgan is not the only Premier whose approval ratings have soared during the pandemic.
His popularity is closely followed by Ontario Premier Doug Ford (66 per cent), and Quebec Premier Francois Legault (65 per cent).
In Ford’s case, his government has been praised after an entrance into Stage Three of their reopening plan did not lead to an increase in daily case rates.
Though a mandatory mask policy in Quebec has led to protests in recent weeks, two-thirds of the province still support Legault as case numbers remain relatively low for two months straight.
At the other end of the spectrum, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Manitoba Premier Brian Palliser are doing far worse than their counterparts in other provinces.
Plummeting oil revenues and and persisting pandemic-related economic shocks in Alberta have led to a 42 per cent approval rating for Kenney—the lowest number recorded since his United Conservative Party formed government in 2019.
And in Manitoba, rising COVID-19 cases in recent weeks and a decision to promote the province as a tourism destination during the pandemic have caused a 44 per cent approval rating for Premier Palliser.
Meanwhile the Institute says the Premier with the lowest approval rating—34 per cent for Newfoundland & Labrador Premier Andrew Furey—can be discounted from this survey as he took up the post recently, this quarter, and residents remain unaware of his performance with more than half of respondents saying they are unsure of how they feel about him at this point.
These results are based on an online survey conducted between August 26 and 30, 2020 among a representative randomized sample of 4,703 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum.
