Kenney's approval rating drops to 40% amid COVID-19 pandemic

Canadians have been looking to their provincial leaders during this troubling time.

Legislation has seen rapid changes, public health acts have been announced, and residents have been tuning in to near-daily updates from their premiers over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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An Angus Reid Institute survey found that the majority of Canada’s provincial leaders saw increases in approval ratings during the pandemic, though some have seen a much larger bump than others.

Premier approval December (Angus Reid Institute)

BC’s John Horgan saw a 20-point increase since February, jumping from 46% to 64% as of the end of November.

Horgan is followed by Quebec’s Francois Legault (64%), New Brunswick’s Blaine Higgs (63%), Nova Scotia’s Stephen McNeil (62%), Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe (61%), Ontario’s Doug Ford (55%), and Newfoundland’s Andrew Furey (53%).

Alberta’s own Jason Kenney is on the other end of the scale, however, having dropped 7% in approval rating during the coronavirus pandemic.

At 40%, he comes second-last only to Manitoba’s Brian Palliser, who saw his own approval rating drop by 11% since February to just 32%.

Jason Kenney approval November (Angus Reid Institute)

Prior to the global health emergency, Kenney had been sitting fourth-highest on the list with an approval rating of 47%.

The Angus Reid article notes that Kenney has been criticized for his handling of the pandemic, most notably by leaving Alberta as the only province in Canada without a province-wide indoor mask mandate.

Alberta also currently has the most active cases in the country.

The online survey had been conducted between November 24 and 30 to a sample size of 5,003 Canadian adults.