Majorities in Alberta and Ontario Would Prefer a Different Premier

Since August, the proportion of Albertans who feel they would be “better off” as a country increased by 10 points to 38%.  

Vancouver, BC [December 28, 2021] – As the year draws to an end, residents of Alberta and Ontario are particularly dissatisfied with their premiers, a new Research Co. poll has found.  

In the online survey of a representative national sample, 51% of Canadians think their province would be better off with a different head of government in charge.  

Majorities of Albertans (73%, +5 since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in August 2021) and Ontarians (57%, +3) suggest that the state of affairs would be more satisfactory under a different premier. The proportion is lower in Quebec (42%, +4) and British Columbia (35%, +1).  

Practically half of Canadians (49%, +2) believe their province would be better off with a different Prime Minister in Ottawa, while 36% disagree and 15% are undecided.  

Criticism of the current prime minister is strongest in Alberta (65%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (56%) and British Columbia (53%), followed by Ontario (49%), Quebec (42%) and Atlantic Canada (38%).  

Just under one-in-five Canadians (18%) believe their province would be better off joining the United States and becoming an American state—a proportion that rises to 25% in Alberta and 24% in Quebec.  

Almost two-in-five Albertans (38%, +10) and three-in-ten Quebecers (30%, +5) believe their province would be better off as its own country.  

“Separatist sentiment in Alberta is currently near the levels observed in December 2019 (40%),” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Across the province, 16% of residents strongly agree with the idea that they would be better off as an independent nation.”  

Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted from December 15 to December 17, 2021, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error – which measures sample variability – is +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
 

Find our data tables here and download the press release here. 

For more information on this poll, please contact:

Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.

778.929.0490