With a provincial election only weeks away, Manitoba’s Heather Stefanson remains at the bottom of the approval rankings for Canadian premiers — but there’s some positive news for the Progressive Conservative leader as well.
According to the latest premiers’ performance poll, released Wednesday by the Angus Reid Institute, Stefanson’s approval sits at 28 per cent — good for a last-place tie with Ontario’s Doug Ford.
That number, however, is the highest approval score she’s received since taking office in 2021, and a three per cent increase from the results of the previous poll in June.
It’s also seven points up from her all-time low of 21 per cent in January of last year.
Get daily Winnipeg news
Of the more than 300 Manitobans polled, only four per cent said they “strongly approve” of Stefanson’s work as premier, with an additional 24 per cent choosing “moderately approve.”
A full 44 per cent of respondents said they “strongly disapprove” of Stefanson as leader of the province, and 16 per cent “moderately disapprove.”
Yet with an election set for Oct. 3 and expected to be a tight race between Stefanson’s Progressive Conservatives and the Manitoba NDP, the premier may benefit from the undecided vote. Twelve per cent — the second-highest percentage in the country — of Manitobans polled said they weren’t sure how they would rank their approval or disapproval of Stefanson’s performance in office.
On the other end of the spectrum, Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe sat at the top of the heap, with exactly 50 per cent of respondents voicing their approval, despite dropping a full seven points since June’s survey.
Joining him at the top of the list is Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, also polling at 50 per cent after a five per cent drop.
The poll was conducted by the Angus Reid Institute online between Aug. 31 and Sept. 8, 2023, among a randomized representative sample of 3,873 Canadian adults.