Most Albertans think their province is heading in the wrong direction, a new Leger poll by Postmedia found.
The survey found that a majority of Albertans – 54% – believed their province was headed down the wrong path. The rest of the respondents were split almost evenly between thinking Alberta was heading in the right direction and being unsure.
Meanwhile, 61% believed that Alberta’s reputation has been hurt by how the United Conservative Party (UCP) government has handled the pandemic.
The poll was conducted between Dec. 2 and Dec. 5 and involved 1,249 respondents. A similar poll with a random sample would have a margin of error of +/- 2.8%, 19 times out of 20.
Leger executive vice-president Ian Large says the dissatisfaction can’t be explained by party support alone.
“It’s clearly more than half, and that isn’t just going to be accounted for by the people who support the NDP,” he said. “This is both UCP supporters and NDP supporters.”
“People generally don’t like the direction the government is heading in,” Large continued. “And whenever we track this question over the years, which isn’t very often, we know that people tend to be unhappy with the government. But this is remarkably high.”
On specific issues, 81% of Albertans believed that the provincial government has done a “poor” or “fair” job at handling the COVID-19 pandemic overall, while 18% said it has done a “good” or “very good” job.
With regard to diversifying Alberta’s economy, 20% responded that the government has done a “good” or “very good” job on the matter, while 72% said they have performed “poorly” or “fairly.”
As for attitudes towards Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, a recent poll from October found that only 22% of Albertans approve of his performance. In June, Kenney’s approval had been at 31%.
Kenney is due to face a leadership review in April 2022 during a UCP annual general meeting in Edmonton.
The recent arrival of political opponent and former Wildrose leader Brian Jean on the scene has caused many to question whether Kenney will survive as leader.
Earlier this month, Jean won the UCP nomination for the Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche by- election that will be held this upcoming March.
