Premier Dwight Ball posted a 42 per cent approval rating in the latest poll on Canadian premiers by the Angus Reid Institute.
Ball has been trending upward through the quarters, with just a 27 per cent approval back in September.
“All I can say about that is really it’s an example I think — we put in place, in 2016, a plan for this province and you know we’re working that every day. Today’s announcement is an example of that. Investing in communities,” Ball said when asked about the poll Wednesday morning. “It’s a plan that we put in place and obviously people in our province right now are recognizing that that plan is working to their benefit.”
The premier took questions from reporters on the heels of a pre-budget announcement in St. John’s.
The new results come from an online survey conducted from March 6 to March 15, among a randomized sample of adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum.
“Just over two in five (42 per cent) are pleased with the job Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball is doing. This represents a seven-point increase for Ball, as his government announces plans for a new public health act in the forthcoming budget and implements a new policy to take on workplace harassment,” states analysis offered online at angusreid.org. “This, in addition to the government’s inquiry into Nalcor Energy’s unpopular Muskrat Falls project, may be playing in Ball’s favour, as he rises for the second consecutive quarter.”
Ball is still below the 60 per cent approval rating recorded in February 2016. He plummeted from there to just 17 per cent approval, with a budget that has become known for new tax and fee increases.
The next provincial budget will be released Tuesday, March 27.
The Angus Reid Institute is a Canadian non-profit research foundation. The latest poll was created in co-operation with intelligence firm MARU/Matchbox. The margin of error is considered to be plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
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