- Just under one-half are satisfied with provincial government’s performance
- The gap widens between PCs and Liberals in decided voter intentions
- Higgs holds onto top premier preference, with Vickers second choice followed closely by Coon
HALIFAX, March 12, 2020: Satisfaction with the performance of the provincial government led by Premier Blaine Higgs declined slightly this past quarter, with less than half reporting satisfaction (48%, from 53% in November), according to the latest survey by Narrative Research. This reflects the lowest level of satisfaction with the government recorded in the past year. The percentage of residents expressing complete dissatisfaction has risen six points (up to 17% from 11%).
Despite lower satisfaction levels, if an election were held today, decided New Brunswick voters indicate the PCs would receive the highest level of support, at 39%, which is consistent with results from the last two quarters. The gap between the PCs and the Liberal Party has widened to 11 percentage points, with the Liberals garnering 28% of decided voter support.
The Green Party continues to hold two in ten decided voters (20%), with the New Democratic Party maintaining 8% and the People’s Alliance of New Brunswick with 4%, all relatively unchanged since the previous quarter. Among all residents, three in ten do not know who they would vote for (28%), and three percent do not plan to vote.
In terms of preference for premier, results are consistent with the past quarter. Higgs is preferred by one-quarter of residents (26% compared with 27% in November), with two in ten voicing preference for either Vickers (20% compared with 21% in November) or Coon (18% compared with 17% in November). Thomason receives 5% of the vote, and Austin receives 3%.
These results are part of Narrative Research’s Atlantic Quarterly®, an independent telephone survey of Atlantic Canadians, and are based on a sample of 400 adult New Brunswickers, conducted from February 6 to February 24, 2020, with overall results accurate to within ± 4.9 percentage points, 95 out of 100 times.
Narrative Research www.narrativeresearch.ca, is one of Canada’s leading public opinion and market research companies. Founded in 1978 as Corporate Research Associates, Narrative Research is dedicated to providing clients with state-of-the-art research and strategic consulting services. Follow us on Twitter @EveryNarrative.
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For more information, please contact:
Margaret Brigley, CEO, Narrative Research at 902.493.3830 (W) mbrigley@narrativeresearch.ca
OR Margaret Chapman, COO, Narrative Research, at (902) 493-3834, mchapman@narrativeresearch.ca
