Angus Reid says two of Canada’s most prominent Conservative premiers are deep in the depths of the blues this spring and it has nothing to do with their political stripe. The pollster says Ontario’s Doug Ford and Alberta’s Jason Kenney are experiencing pandemic related declines in job performance approval. Ford, whose personal approval soared to almost 70 per cent in the spring of 2020, is now at half that level, down 15 points since last quarter. In Alberta, fewer than one-third, at 31 per cent, approve of Kenney’s performance, off nine points over the last three months.
In Saskatchewan Scott Moe has 61 per cent approval and is in fourth place. In the last ranking he had 57 per cent approval and third place which is a telling picture of how things have changed for other leaders in the country.
On the upward swing, it appears Atlantic Canadians are warming to relatively new premiers. Premier Andrew Furey’s approval gained 17 points in Newfoundland and Labrador, from 45 per cent in March to 62 per cent putting him in third place. And Iain Rankin, whose performance half of Nova Scotians had no opinion of last quarter, gained 22 points in approval, up to 53 per cent.