It has been a bit of a gong show over the past few months for the B.C. Conservatives, and one man who is benefiting without having to do too much is the province’s leader, David Eby, who has seen a big jump in his approval ratings.
The Angus Reid Institute released its latest analysis on Canadian premiers this week. While Eby was one of the worst premiers in Canada for much of 2026, there has been quite a shift, according to the latest numbers.
While he’s still below a 50 per cent approval rating, Eby has jumped 10 points since the last analysis was done by Angus Reid in June 2026, now seeing a 41 per cent approval rating.
Doug Ford moves to the bottom of the ranking with 31 per cent (that’s after a 10-point jump), followed by the Nova Scotia Premier. Eby has slipped ahead of Alberta’s Danielle Smith, who has an approval rating of 38 per cent.
Angus Reid attributes some of Eby’s turnaround to the way he’s responded to ongoing tension with the United States.
“The escalation of the trade war is perhaps to Eby’s political benefit, as his approval gains 10 points from 31 per cent in June to 41 per cent now,” Angus Reid’s report states.
It also referenced the new signs Eby introduced at a Rally for Canada event. The signs featured messaging like, “Strong, proud, and will never be the 51st state. Sorry!”
Unsurprisingly, Angus Reid also states that Eby might be benefiting just by being a “better option” than the alternative, referring to B.C. Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay.
“Barely three months into the job, her caucus has splintered.”
Over the past month, Findlay has seen a mass exodus of MLAs from the Conservative Caucus.
As mentioned, it isn’t all flowers for Eby, and the shadow of the monstrous $13.8-billion deficit is lurking in the background, which Angus Reid points out is “an increase of half a billion from February.”
“The fiscal management of the NDP has been called into question after the province revealed a $1.5-billion budgeting error due to a miscalculation of natural gas royalties. More than two-in-five (46 per cent) in B.C. say they disapprove of Eby’s performance,” the report adds.