Houston has highest premier approval, but support is trending down
Posted Jun 14, 2022 12:10:00 PM.
A new poll is finding Nova Scotia's premier has the highest approval rating in the country.
But Tim Houston's 62 per cent approval, as presented in new data from pollster Angus Reid, also represents a drop of 11 points for the premier since last quarter. That's the largest decline of any premier.
“It appears Houston has suffered little from a recent policy reversal which saw his government scrap a proposed non-resident property tax just over a month after it was introduced,” the pollster writes. “While the measure would have raised $65-million in taxes, Nova Scotians were quick to criticize the tax as 'punitive' to non-residents and 'un-Canadian'.”
The results are worse for Houston's fellow Atlantic Canadian premiers. Newfoundland and Labrador's Anthony Furey saw a 10-point drop from the last poll in March, now enjoying the support of two out of five in his province.
In New Brunswick, Blaine Higgs' approval has dropped three points to 33 per cent, leaving him ahead of only Alberta's Jason Kenney at 32 per cent and Manitoba's Heather Stefanson at just 23 per cent.
PEI is not included in the data because of its small population, the pollster said.
Angus Reid suggests rising inflation is putting pressure on support for premiers nationwide.
