Nearly 60 per cent disapprove of Premier Moe's handling of COVID-19, according to new poll
Adam Hunter | CBC News | Posted: January 17, 2022 7:28 PM | Last Updated: January 17, 2022
It's the highest disapproval rating since the poll began tracking pandemic response
Opinion on Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has reached a new low, according to an online survey.
About 59 per cent of those surveyed by the Angus Reid Institute found Moe was doing a bad job handling the pandemic, according to the organization's first premier's approval poll of 2022.
That compares with 32 per cent of people who didn't approve of Moe's handling of the pandemic last July.
The latest results, which show 37 per cent thought the premier was doing a good job dealing with the pandemic, were released on Monday.
Pandemic response
The nearly 60 per cent disapproval rating is the highest since the poll began tracking pandemic response.
While Moe's pandemic response has tumbled, his overall approval rating rose to 45 per cent, up from 43 per cent in October, which was the first time it fell below 50 per cent since March 2018.
In October, Moe's approval dropped 18 percentage points, the sharpest decline of all the premiers.
The most recent results have Moe fifth among nine premiers. Manitoba's new Premier Heather Stefanson was last with 21 per cent. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston received the highest rating at 57 per cent.
Those surveyed were much more pleased with the overall government response, specifically related to its vaccine distribution, with 81 per cent of those surveyed saying the rollout was positive.
About 73 per cent of those surveyed thought the Saskatchewan government did a good job of distributing rapid tests.
The survey was done online between Jan. 7 and 12 and consisted of a random sampling of 474 Saskatchewan residents who are members of the Angus Reid Forum.
The margin of error for the Saskatchewan sub-sample size of 474 is +/- 4.5 percentage points.