More than half of Ontarians are not satisfied with Doug Ford’s management of the Omicron variant, a poll by Ipsos Public Affairs.
Data gathered between Jan. 14 and 17 on behalf of Global News shows the Ontario premier’s approval rating was 46 per cent. Conversely, the premier of Quebec, François Legault, had the highest approval rating of 66 per cent.
“That’s quite concerning for Doug Ford,” said Sean Simpson, senior vice-president of Ipsos. “We are just months away from an election.”
Simpson suggested the closure of public schools is a significant factor in people’s opinion of Ontario’s premier. “That’s really been a hot-button issue in Ontario,” he said.
Ford announced schools would reopen beginning Jan. 17, as classes had been operating online following the winter break. However, there was a lack of communication between the provincial government and teachers unions. Members said they discovered this critical information from social media and the internet, not from the ministers themselves.
Despite the low approval rating and disappointment with the province’s recent course of action, Simpson said Ontarians are not necessarily angry with Ford.
“I think most people recognize that our leaders are trying their best,” Simpson said. “It’s just that some appear to be doing better than others in their response. Doug Ford is a little bit behind the rest of the premiers, save Jason Kenny of Alberta, whose approval rating has been dismal throughout the course of the pandemic.”
According to the poll, Kenny’s approval rating was 34 per cent.
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between Jan. 14 and 17, 2022, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,001 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online via the Ipsos I-Say Panel and non-panel sources. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The poll is considered accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.