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Albertans says Danielle Smith would be terrible leader for the province

Angus Reid Institute releases poll results
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UCP members will find out who will lead their party and the province on Oct. 6. (Contributed)

UCP leadership frontrunners are making Albertans nervous, according to a new poll.

Angus Reid Institute found that Albertans are more likely to believe a win by any of the three leadership frontrunners – Danielle Smith, Travis Toews, and Brian Jean – will be bad for Alberta.

They are particularly worried about Smith winning, with 42 per cent believing it would be terrible if she won. Twenty-one per cent thought Jean would be terrible, and 16 per cent were against Toews.

Smith proposed the Alberta Sovereignty Act and says it will give the province the power to ignore federal law and court rulings. Half of Albertans (54 per cent) oppose such a law, and only 34 per cent support it. The majority (56 per cent) of past UCP voters are in support, while nearly all past NDP voters (91 per cent) are against it.

Related:

Danielle Smith faces renewed attacks in final Alberta UCP leadership debate

Despite concerns, a new leader for the UCP has increased support for the party which leads the NDP in voter intent by six points. Forty-seven per cent of Albertans say they would vote UCP if an election were held today, which marks its highest level of support since before the pandemic.

Half of Albertans (52 per cent) say a second term for Rachel Notley would be bad for the province, including 45 per cent who say it will be terrible, while 42 per cent support Notley.

Support for the UCP is strongest among those over the age of 54 (61 per cent), while the NDP draws the most support from 18 to 34-year-olds (55 per cent). Men are much less likely to support the NDP than women.

Albertans say the top two issues facing the province are cost of living (63 per cent) and health care (51 per cent). Issues around oil and gas (30 per cent), the economy (28 per cent) and education (22 per cent) round out the top five challenges.

Related:

Alberta UCP leadership hopefuls split on idea of provincial police to replace RCMP

A majority (59 per cent) of Albertans feel Jason Kenney will be remembered as a below average premier, while 29 per cent say he was average at best. Only 11 per cent disagreed.

For more information visit www.angusreid.org/.



szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com

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