COVID-19 has given almost every Premier in Canada a boost

Photo: Angus Reid Institute

COVID-19 good for all Premiers approval rating, almost.

Only two Canadian Premiers, Alberta’s Jason Kenney and Manitoba’s Brian Pallister have sub-majority approval ratings, according to a recent Angus Reid poll.

B.C. Premier John Horgan is enjoying a 25 per cent rise in popularity compared to the last poll done by Angus Reid following the Wet’suwet’en protests against the Coastal Gaslink pipeline.

Seven-in-ten British Columbians approve of how Horgan has handled the COVID-19 fallout.

In British Columbia, businesses have started reopening, though public officials have asked residents to remain in their communities and keep travel close to home this summer. B.C. reported just 12 new cases from the May 23rd weekend. B.C.’s COVID-19 cases per 100,000 are just above 50.

The two Premiers with the highest approval ratings this quarter are New Brunswick's, Blaine Higgs, 80 per cent and Quebec Premier Francois Legault, 77 per cent.

Ontario's Doug Ford has also benefited from COVID-19  and has never been more popular in fact some have dubbed him the "new Doug Ford." Ontarians have seen a different side of Ford thanks to features like "Cooking with Doug." His rating jumped 38 per cent from 31 per cent to 69 per cent.

All other premiers with the exception of Alberta's Jason Kenney and Manitoba's Brian Pallister saw significant increases in their approval rating.

Manitoba has among the fewest COVID-19 cases in the country, but Premier Pallister has not enjoyed the considerable increase in approval that some other leaders. He still saw a slight bump, up four points from last quarter.

Alberta is home to what is reportedly the largest single-facility outbreak of COVID-19 in North America, after more than 1,500 cases were linked to the Cargill meat-packing plant in High River. Kenney’s approval has only risen by one per cent to 48 per cent, still down significantly from a one time high of 61 per cent.