Monday, May 31, 2021


Albertans give UCP failing grade for handling of pandemic: poll

Jason Herring CALGARY HERALD 31/5/2021

Albertans’ satisfaction with the province’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has reached a new low, a recent poll suggests.
© Gavin Young/Postmedia The downtown Calgary skyline is hidden by fog as a commuter crosses the Centre Street bridge on Wednesday, May 26, 2021.

Seventy-eight per cent of Albertans say they do not believe the province has handled the pandemic well, according to the survey by Leger conducted for Postmedia, which polled 1,118 Albertans online between May 21 and 24.


Pollster Ian Large said this is likely to be the nadir of the pandemic for Premier Jason Kenney’s government, as polling took place immediately before the province announced its aggressive reopening plan last week , with the potential for nearly all COVID-19 restrictions to be lifted by the end of June.

“We’ve seen all through the pandemic that there’s been very poor scores for the Alberta government and the premier’s handling of it, almost out of the gate,” said Large, executive vice-president at Leger.

“But this is, in my opinion, as low as it’s going to get . . . During this week, certainly from where I’m sitting, there feels like a lot more optimism.”

Broad disapproval of the United Conservatives’ pandemic approach persists in all regions of Alberta, but Calgarians were more favourable than those in Edmonton or rural regions. UNITED CALGARY PARTY


The wide-reaching frustration with the province’s pandemic approach comes from opposite ends of the political spectrum, Large said.

Kenney has faced criticism over his handling of COVID-19 from those who believe the government isn’t taking strong enough action to mitigate virus spread, as well as those who think the province’s actions have been too strict.

“It’s only a smaller group in the middle that says it’s just about right, in kind of a Goldilocks zone,” Large said.

© Provided by Calgary Herald

One-quarter of respondents said they believe the province should lift all COVID-19 restrictions now, with support for removing restrictions highest among Albertans under 45 and those living outside of Calgary and Edmonton.

Albertans responded most favourably to the province’s handling of the vaccine rollout, though only about a third of respondents said it was good or very good.

Large said the frame of reference matters when evaluating Alberta’s vaccine campaign. In the context of Canadian provinces, Alberta trails only Quebec and Manitoba in per-capita doses administered, but some pessimism might come from higher rates in the U.S.

“Despite the fact the vaccine rollout is among the best if not the best in the country, people might look to what’s happening in the United States and say, why do they have significantly more people vaccinated than in Canada, and much looser health restrictions?” Large said.

“In Canada, we’re doing really well. But compared to some other countries — the United Kingdom, the U.S. — we’re not doing so well.”

Albertans gave the worst marks to the government for listening to the views of all Albertans during the pandemic — the issue at the core of a UCP caucus revolt earlier this month that saw two dissidents expelled from the party.

Only 17 per cent of respondents believe the Alberta government is doing a good job listening to views of those across the province.

“It’s easy to see why Albertans think they’re not being listened to, because there’s these very vocal anti-lockdown people,” Large said, referencing scofflaw churches and a large rodeo in central Alberta . “They’re the ones that are taking up all the oxygen.”

The Leger poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

jherring@postmedia.com

Twitter: @jason

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