- Satisfaction with the performance of the provincial government remains stable and well above pre-pandemic levels.
- The gap in voting intentions between the Liberal and PC parties is also stable, and despite his impending resignation, residents continue to express preference for McNeil as Premier.
HALIFAX, December 8th, 2020
Nova Scotians’ satisfaction with the overall performance of the Liberal government led by Premier Stephen McNeil is high and remains above pre-pandemic levels at 73% this quarter (vs. 70% in August 2020), according to the latest survey by Narrative Research. Satisfaction levels are generally high across the province.
“This has been an extremely challenging time to govern. With an increase in COVID-19 caseloads and some evidence of community spread, the government has introduced difficult restrictions on businesses that significantly impact residents,” said Margaret Brigley, Narrative Research’s CEO. “Despite those actions, the levels of overall satisfaction enjoyed by the provincial government since the pandemic are unprecedented, suggesting Nova Scotians are generally supportive of the government actions.”
Decided voter support for the Liberals is also stable at 49% (vs. 47% in August), while the PCs have 25% of decided voter intentions (vs. 27% in August). Voter support for the New Democratic Party stands at 21% (vs. 19% in August). The Green Party holds support from five percent of decided voters in the province (vs. 6% in August). The proportion of undecided voters remains stable (32%, compared with 34% in August). Further, four percent do not plan to vote, and a similar percent refuse to state a choice.
Despite McNeil’s announcement on August 6th that he will be resigning, and the fact that a new Liberal Party leader will be elected on February 6th, four in ten continue to indicate that McNeil remains their preferred choice for Premier (43%, compared with 40% in August), among current party leaders. Support for Houston stands at 16% (compared with 17% in August), a figure similar to the proportion preferring Burrill (15%, unchanged from August). Trappenberg is most preferred as Premier by three percent of the electorate (compared with 5% in August) and Dean by one percent (compared with 0% for Smyth in August). Two in ten (19%) residents are undecided on the matter of leadership, while four percent prefer none of the party leaders.
These results are part of Narrative Research’s Atlantic Quarterly®, an independent, quarterly telephone survey of Atlantic Canadians, and are based on an overall sample of 800 adult Nova Scotians, conducted from November 3 – 22, 2020, with overall results accurate to within ±3.5 percentage points, 95 out of 100 times.
Narrative Research www.narrativeresearch.ca, is one of Canada’s leading public opinion and market research companies. Narrative Research is dedicated to providing clients with state-of-the-art research and strategic consulting services. Follow us on Twitter @EveryNarrative.
For more information, please contact:
Margaret Brigley, CEO at 902-493-3830 (W); 902.222.7066 (M), mbrigley@narrativeresearch.ca
