CALGARY – A new poll suggests Albertans are divided when it comes to whether or not they support the government’s 2015 provincial budget.
The poll from Mainstreet Technologies, released on Monday, asked over 3,000 Albertans if they approve or disapprove of the new budget released last week; 43 per cent said they did not approve, 31 per cent said they did and a further 26 per cent said they weren’t sure.
When asked what they felt about the announcement of a $6.1B deficit, over a third said it was too big, while almost a quarter said it was the right amount.
The poll also found Albertans were at odds when it came to the government’s decision to ramp up spending on roads, schools and hospital over the next five years; 49 per cent said they approved, but 41 percent did not.
Albertans did, however, seem to support newly announced markups on liquor and cigarettes. A total of 59 per cent said they approved of the decision.
Support for the NDP’s new job creation incentive program was also strong; almost three quarters (71%) of those polled said they approved.
“While the budget doesn’t have wide support several measures within it do,” said Mainstreet Technologies Executive-Vice President of Research David Valentin.“There is strong support for new sin taxes and for the job creation incentive program.”
The Mainstreet/Postmedia poll used Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology to survey 3,199 Albertans on November 1, 2015, with a combination of land lines and cellular phones.
According to Mainstreet Technologies the poll carries an overall margin of error of +/- 1.73%, 19 times out of20. Regional margins of error: Edmonton: +/- 3.07%; Calgary +/-2.99%; Rest of Alberta : +/-2.95%, 19 times out of 20.
Results were weighed by age and gender based on the 2011 Canadian Census.
BELOW: See the complete poll from Mainstreet Technologies
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