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75% of Albertans disapprove of Kenney’s pandemic leadership: poll

Nearly 75 per cent of Albertans believe Premier Jason Kenney is doing a poor job of handling the COVID-19 pandemic.
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A new Angus Reid poll says that close to two-thirds of Albertans think premier Jason Kenney is doing a bad job handling the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Chris Schwarz/Government of Alberta)

Nearly 75 per cent of Albertans believe Premier Jason Kenney is doing a poor job of handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

An Angus Reid poll released Friday surveyed nearly 1,577 Canadian adults between April 5-8, to find out their opinions on various matters related to the pandemic.

One part of the poll looked at government performance and two-thirds of Albertans who were polled believe the premier is doing a below par job of handling the crisis. That was the worst mark among all the provincial leaders.

“The negative trend is particularly profound in Alberta. Last April 86 per cent of Albertans said Kenney was doing a good job handling the pandemic,” the report says.

“In November, 70 per cent felt this way. Now, just 23 per cent feel Kenney is performing well on this file, a near four-fold decline from a year ago.”

In contrast, almost half of Albertans believe Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw is doing a good job of handling the pandemic.

Kenney is in a particularly difficult position according to the poll, as 45 per cent of his constituency say the regulations in place have gone too far, while 42 per cent say they don’t go far enough.

Of those surveyed, at least half in Saskatchewan (50 per cent), Manitoba (59 per cent) and Ontario (65 per cent) said that their premier is doing a poor job handling the pandemic.

Across Canada, there is also continuing worry about infection. Two-thirds of Canadians say they are concerned about becoming sick with COVID-19. This is a four-point increase from March and four-in-five Canadians (81 per cent) now worry about a friend or family member.

About 34 per cent of Canadians also say that their mental health is poor or terrible. This rises to half among those under the age of 35.

Albertans’ sense of optimism is also low these days, with 32 per cent saying their sense of optimism is ‘poor’ or ‘very poor.’

Overall, half of Canadians (48 per cent) say that their communities need tighter restrictions to stem rising infections, while 28 per cent disagree. One-quarter (24 per cent) say their community has found the right balance.

Two-in-five Canadians (43 per cent) say that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has done a good job of handling the pandemic, while 52 per cent say he has done a poor job.



Byron Hackett

About the Author: Byron Hackett

Byron has been the sports reporter at the advocate since December of 2016. He likes to spend his time in cold hockey arenas accompanied by luke warm, watered down coffee.
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