Premier Jason Kenney - CHAT News File Photo

By Charles Lefebvre

New poll shows popularity drop for Premier Kenney

Dec 2, 2019 | 4:53 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The honeymoon period for Premier Jason Kenney appears to be over, according to a poll released Monday.

In a poll for the Canadian Press conducted by Leger, the percentage of Albertans with a favourable opinion of Kenney was at 42 per cent, and 50 per cent had a negative opinion of him.

This is a drop from September, where an Angus Reid Poll had Kenney with a 60 per cent approval rating among Albertans.

Jim Groom, a political science instructor with Medicine Hat College, says the provincial budget tabled in October, and the announcement of cuts in the budget, have had an impact on the premier’s popularity.

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“When you’re doing an austerity budget, you’re going to offend certain population groups no matter what you do because it’s an austerity budget, you’re going to cut,” he said. “As a result, there’s going to be people losing jobs and are going to be losing their careers, income and all the rest of it, and it’s bound to have a trickle-down effect on folks, who say ‘I hope I’m not next.’ I think that may be part of it.”

The poll was conducted between November 15 and 25, and had over 3,000 respondents across Canada.

Groom adds it’s common for a leader to see their popularity drop in the months after an election.

“This is very typical,” he said. “Folks come in, and we have high expectations and we think everything is going to be perfect. And then reality sets in, and then there’s a job that has to be done, and the popularity just simply drops a little bit.”

Groom says Kenney’s agenda means his popularity may not jump again, due to many items in his agenda being long-term goals.

“I think he has to wait for time to pass, so he can see that his policies are actually working. Do we get a pipeline? Do we see corporations start investing more back into Alberta. Do we see some diversity to our economy? Do people leave because they aren’t looking very good in Alberta? All those considerations are a bit long-term,” he said. “If they turn one way for him, they will be beneficial. If they go the other direction, he could be in some concern for the next election.”