The proportion of Albertans who think the province would be better off as its own country fell to 26%.
Vancouver, BC [February 1, 2023] – Just over half of Canadians think their province would benefit from a change in the federal government, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 52% of Canadians think their province would be better off with a different Prime Minister in Ottawa, up one point since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in June 2022.
Majorities of Canadians who reside in Alberta (66%, +2), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (65%, +5), British Columbia (57%, +4) and Ontario (52%, +4) believe their provinces would be better off with someone other than Justin Trudeau in charge. The proportions are lower in Atlantic Canada (44%, -8) and Quebec (42%, -3).
“Canadians aged 35-to-54 (56%) are more likely to believe that a change in the federal government would be beneficial to their province,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “The rating is slightly lower among their counterparts aged 55 and over (51%) and aged 18-to-34 (50%)”
Just over half of Canadians (51%, unchanged) believe their province would be better off with a different premier in charge.
Compared to June 2022, animosity towards Ontario’s Doug Ford has risen from 43% to 57%, while it has dropped for Quebec’s François Legault from 48% to 45%. These two premiers earned majorities in provincial elections held in June and October respectively.
In British Columbia, there is little change in the results posted by John Horgan in June (41%) and David Eby this month (40%). In Alberta, 55% of respondents think the province would be better off with a premier other than Danielle Smith. In June, 65% of Albertans felt this way about Jason Kenney.
The proportion of Albertans who think their province would be better off as its own country fell to 26% this month, down seven points since June and well below the all-time high of 40% registered in December 2019.
Separatist sentiment also dropped in Quebec, from 32% in June to 29% this month.
Fewer than one-in-five Canadians (17%, =) believe their province would be better off joining the United States and becoming an American state—a proportion that rises to 21% in Alberta.
Methodology: Results are based on an online study conducted from January 20 to January 22, 2023, 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 [e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca