Selinger gets bounce in approval

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This article was published 20/03/2015 (4109 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Greg Selinger is taking baby steps in rebuilding his popularity in Manitoba, according to an Angus Reid Institute poll.

In a month that saw Selinger barely fight off challengers for his leadership, the embattled premier saw a slight bump to his job-approval rating in March, the online poll released Thursday said.

Selinger’s approval rating in his own province is at 22 per cent, up five per cent from an all-time low of 17 per cent in December 2014. Selinger was reaffirmed as premier in a March 8 leadership vote.

That 22 per cent is the lowest among the premiers, the survey said. B.C. Premier Christy Clark has the next lowest approval rating at 33 per cent.

While any positive trend is good news for Selinger, the majority of respondents did not approve of his performance. Sixty-three per cent of respondents disapproved of the job Selinger has done. Another 14 per cent were unsure.

A spokesman for Selinger said the premier was too busy to comment on the poll.

Opposition Leader Brian Pallister said an election will be the best poll on Selinger’s approval.

“I think what Manitobans are longing for is leadership, real leadership and real results,” Pallister said. “There’s an absence of those things here now.”

The poll said Saskatchewan’s Brad Wall continues to be the most popular premier, registering a 64 per cent approval rating.

The online poll of 6,278 Canadians examined public approval of premiers in nine provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador) from Feb. 26 to Mar. 6. The poll carries a margin of error of plus/minus 1.2 per cent, 19 times out of 20.