Premier Moe's approval rating up slightly, remains below 50%: poll

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe’s approval rating rose two points, but remains below 50 per cent, according to the latest polling data from the Angus Reid Institute.

The January 2022 update places Moe fifth in approval rating among Canadian premiers, at 45 per cent. He sits behind the premiers of Nova Scotia, Quebec, B.C. and Newfoundland.

However, those poll results don’t carry over to the public’s perception of the premier’s personal performance.

“There is this interesting disconnect between say the role of the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the role of the government and the actions of the premier,” Tom McIntosh, a political scientist at the U of R said.

Despite the overall rise in approval, Saskatchewan’s perception of Moe’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has declined in the past six months.

Among those residents polled, 59 per cent said Moe is doing a bad job when it comes to the pandemic, while 37 per cent said he is doing a good job.

“The lack of public health measures may be working against Premier Scott Moe, who himself tested positive last week,” Angus Reid said in its poll update.

“We have Quebec that has 10 times the hospitalization rate of Saskatchewan, three times the ICU rate and actually eight times the fatalities than what we have here in this province. So, you know what we are doing here in Saskatchewan, relative to the rest of Canada does seem to be effective,” Premier Scott Moe said.

The data suggests Saskatchewan residents are much happier with the provincial government’s handling of the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and rapid tests, with a majority of respondents saying they think the province has done a very good, or good job.

Moe dropped below a majority approval rating for the first time in his tenure as premier in October 2021.