New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds approval of Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson are at the bottom of the heap among provincial leaders.
While in neighbouring Saskatchewan, Premier Scott Moe saw the biggest fall in his approval rating dropping seven points (the most among premiers) from June, popularity of Nova Scotia’s Tim Houston and Ford were also in free fall with them dropping five points.
According to Angus Reid, Ford saw the largest decline in personal approval which now sits at 28 per cent, the lowest of his five-year term as his government attempts to navigate out of the Greenbelt scandal.
Ford garnered perhaps more attention than he would have hoped this summer after the province’s attorney general released a report finding that land swap deals in the Greenbelt under Ford’s government were influenced by developers with personal connections to Ford. Since then, Ford’s minister of housing Steve Clark has resigned, and Ford has asked Attorney General Doug Downey to review the province’s legislation governing lobbyists, admitting that the process is broken.
Despite their big declines, Moe and Houston had the highest approval among premiers sitting at 50%. Newfoundland’s Andrew Furey was next with 49%, British Columbia’s David Eby at 48%, and Alberta’s Danielle Smith and Quebec Francois Legault at 47%. New Brunswick’s Blaine Higgs was up 2 points at 30% landing a higher spot than Ford.
