Dwight Ball's approval rating 20%, second-worst in Canada, says new poll

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball remains unpopular, according to a new poll, topping only Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne's approval rating.

The poll, released Tuesday by the Angus Reid Institute, puts Ball's approval rating at 20 per cent, down a percentage point from a Sept. 16 poll and a far cry from the 60 per cent approval the premier was enjoying in February in the same poll.

Highest unemployment in country

Angus Reid's poll report notes Ball recently saying his biggest regret over the past year was having to break campaign promises, and adds that the overdue and over-budget Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project has added to problems brought on by the highest provincial unemployment rate in the country (14.5 per cent in November, according to Statistics Canada).

Wynne, facing criticism over the provincial government's decision to sell Hydro One, has seen her approval rating drop from 20 per cent in September to 16 per cent.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall continues to enjoy the highest approval rating of nine premiers (the poll does not include Prince Edward Island).

The poll is the result of an online survey of 5,300 Canadian adults — 229 people in Newfoundland and Labrador — in a randomized and representative sample of Angus Reid Forum panelists from Dec. 5-12, with a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20, according to Angus Reid.