Saskatchewan’s Brad Wall leads the pack in premier popularity: poll

TORONTO —  Brad Wall is the leader of the pack among Canadian premiers in a new poll gauging approval ratings, while Newfoundland’s Kathy Dunderdale ranks the least popular in the crowd.

The online survey that polled 6,559 Canadian adults in nine provinces (excluding Prince Edward Island) found British Columbia’s Christy Clark ranked second-best with 44 per cent, with Ontario’s Kathleen Wynne and Quebec’s Pauline Marois trailing closely with 39 per cent.

The Angus Reid poll attributes Marios’ 12 point boost since June to her handling of the Lac-Megantic rail accident as well as her proposed Quebec Charter of Values, which is widely celebrated by Quebec voters.

Alberta’s Alison Redford rests in the middle with 34 per cent.

Among the wallflowers are the three Atlantic premiers: Dunderdale with 20 per cent, followed by New Brunswick’s David Alward with 27 per cent and Nova Scotia’s Darrell Dexter with 28 per cent.

Also at the back of the pack is Manitoba’s Greg Selinger with 26 per cent, dropping 5 points since June.

The Opposition rises

Liberals are making gains on the East Coast with Dwight Ball earning most of the voter praise at 57 per cent and New Brunswick’s Brian Gallant leading ten points above Alward.

With 51 per cent approval, Nova Scotia’s Liberal leader Stephen McNeil is also currently leading in the polls in the race up the October 8 election.

Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith has the highest rating in Alberta with 47 per cent. While Ontario’s NDP leader Andrea Horwath scooped up 46 per cent, 7 points above Wynne.

Manitoba is swaying toward Progressive Conservative leader Brian Pallister with 50 per cent, nearly doubling Selinger’s likability.

Since outgoing NDP leader Adrian Dix’s surprise loss in the B.C .election he has dropped 17 points and has recently announced his retirement.

Liberals lead in Quebec with Philippe Couillard raking in 46 per cent and Coalition Avenir Quebec’s Francois Legault trailing behind with 45 both slightly above Marois.

Note from Angus Reid: The margin of error is +/- 1.2%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender, and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada.