Premier David Eby’s approval rating with B.C. voters is at 45 per cent, putting him in the middle of the pack among his peers, suggests a new poll by Angus Reid.
Eby’s approval rating has fallen slightly to 45 per cent from 48 per cent last month and his disapproval score is up to 36 per cent from 33 per cent.
The NDP leader’s approval rating puts Eby, who is wrapping up a two-week trade mission to Asia, in a tie with newly re-elected Danielle Smith in Alberta.
Eighteen per cent remain uncertain about B.C.’s new premier, according to the Angus Reid poll.
Eby replaced former premier John Horgan, who stepped down in November after a second bout of cancer. Horgan enjoyed approval ratings of 71 per cent in the spring of 2020, but those numbers had dipped to 48 per by last fall.
The non-profit Angus Reid Institute says its latest data tracking approval of provincial premiers shows while most garner a positive assessment from at least 40 per cent of their provincial populations, Ontario’s Doug Ford, New Brunswick’s Blaine Higgs and Manitoba’s Heather Stefanson are struggling.
Stefanson, facing re-election this fall, has the approval of just one in four Manitobans. In New Brunswick, 28 per cent approve of Higgs, while Ontarians put Ford at 33 per cent.
At the top of heap remain Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe at 57 per cent and Nova Scotia’s Tim Houston at 55 per cent, says the pollster.
Joining Eby and Smith in the mid-range are the more seasoned Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey (47 per cent) and Quebec Premier François Legault (48 per cent).
The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from May 30 to June 3 among a representative randomized sample of 3,885 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum.
