Toronto (Mar 14) – New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute (ARI) finds that the Ontario government has the second lowest performance rating in the country.
ARI’s Government Performance Index – which averages the number of provincial residents who say their government is doing a “good job” on key issues such as health care, inflation, housing affordability, education and more – has seen a 15-point drop on average across the country. Saskatchewan leads the way with a score of 42 – a mark that would have put it sixth in the country five years ago. New Brunswick is at the bottom scoring 22 with Ontario just a point hire at 23.
This is driven by a perceived lack of progress – and indeed, outright decline – by provinces on persistent issues headlined by health care, a provincial issue of high importance according to respondents both five years ago and today.
A majority in every province in the country believe their provincial government is performing poorly on health care as premiers and health ministers struggle to address the myriad problems facing Canada’s health systems.
But health care isn’t the only issue provincial governments have struggled with for a half-decade. Tenured governments in B.C., Ontario and Quebec have seen increased criticism over handling of key issues such as housing affordability and education while the new government in Manitoba deals with lingering concerns about public safety.
Ontarians have had a poor opinion of the performance of the government of Premier Doug Ford for much of the period since the beginning of the pandemic of 2020. That did not stop Ford from cruising to a second majority in the 2022 election. Ford’s government eurrently ranks ahead of only the provincial government of New Brunswick on ARI’s Government Performance Index:
Ford and the PC government is seen as performing poorly on all issues by a majority of constituents with the exception of three – energy policy, their relationship with the federal government and disaster planning, the top concerns of five per cent or fewer of the population (see detailed tables). At least four-in-five believe the government is performing poorly on cost of living (81%), health care (79%) and housing affordability (85%), the top three issues of Ontarians.
Health care continues to be a particular sore spot for Ford’s government. Opposition parties have called for more investment in the system ahead of the province’s budget amid accusations Ford’s government is intentionally withholding resources to benefit private health delivery. In a half decade, the issue has only grown in importance.
Regardless of which issues residents prioritize, there is a sense that provincial governments across the country are struggling to address the key files of the day. The Angus Reid Institute’s Government Performance Index is an average of the proportion of respondents who believe their provincial government is doing a “good job” on a variety of key issues.
