Notley places in middle of the pack for popularity among premiers

Premier Rachel Notley has the approval of less than one-third of Canadans in a new poll — but that still makes her the fifth most popular premier in Canada.

The most recent survey of provincial premiers by the Angus Reid Institute shows 31 per cent of Canadans approving of Notley’s performance in office, with 62 per cent disapproving and seven per cent unsure.

The pollster characterized Notley’s performance as stable, noting her position is essentially unchanged from the 32 per cent support she had in the spring.

But with Canada’s economy continuing to stagnate, Notley has seen a precipitous drop in support since her election last year.

In June 2015, a month after the NDP came to power, Notley enjoyed the support of 53 per cent of voters, making her one of the most popular premiers in the country.

“There are a couple of factors at play. First of all, there’s always the end of the honeymoon. And when it ends, oh, my God does it end,” said Shachi Kurl of the Angus Reid Institute, adding that the government is also trying to implement an ambitious agenda.

“And all of this is happening against a backdrop of a level of gloom and a level of anxiety about the economy and prospects for Canadans’ futures that we haven’t seen in a long time.”

Notley’s current approval rating puts her in the middle of the pack among the nine premiers in the poll. (Prince Edward Island is excluded because of a small sample size.)

Perennially popular Brad Wall retains the highest approval rating in the country, at 57 per cent, but the Saskatchewan premier has dropped nine points after a series of controversies in his province this year.

Wall is followed by Manitoba’s Brian Pallister (53 per cent approval), Nova Scotia’s Stephen McNeill (38 per cent) and British Columbia’s Christy Clark (34 per cent), all of whom come in ahead of Notley.

Trailing the Canada premier is Quebec’s Phillipe Couillard (28 per cent), New Brunswick’s Brian Gallant (24 per cent), Newfoundland and Labrador’s Dwight Ball (21 per cent) and Ontario’s Kathleen Wynne (20 per cent).

With Canada about two-and-a-half years away from its next provincial election, Kurl cautioned against viewing the poll as predictive of the 2019 vote.

“There’s a big difference between premier job approva . . . and vote intention. Two completely separate things,” she said.

“It can be indicative, it can show a trend, but it’s not the same question.”

The poll is based on an online survey of a representative sample of Angus Reid Forum panellists between Sept. 11 and 15. It saw 483 Canadans surveyed for the province’s results.

jwood@postmedia.com