- Just under one-half express satisfaction with the performance of the provincial government.
- Decided voter support shows little change, with the Liberals holding a minority of votes.
- Gap widens in terms of premier preference between McNeil and Houston.
HALIFAX, March 11, 2020: Nova Scotians’ satisfaction with the overall performance of the Liberal government led by Premier Stephen McNeil has shown slight improvement for three consecutive quarters and now sits at 48%, compared with 45% in November 2019, according to the latest survey by Narrative Research. Satisfaction with the provincial government has climbed 13 points since May 2019.
“This matches the highest level of satisfaction recorded for the McNeil Liberals since the last election, suggesting that the government’s decision to close Northern Pulp did not adversely impact satisfaction,” said Margaret Brigley, CEO and partner of Narrative Research.
Decided voters’ intentions show little change over the past quarter. In fact, decided voter support for the Liberals holds at 43% (compared with 42% in November) while the PCs garner 27% of decided voter intentions (compared with 26% in November). Also unchanged is voter support for the New Democratic Party at 21%. The Green party holds support from 10% of decided voters in the province (from 9% in November). However, in a jump of seven points, one-third of residents in the province now indicate they do not know who they would vote for in an upcoming election.
In terms of leadership preference, McNeil continues to hold the preferred spot with 31%, compared with 28% in November 2019, widening the gap with Houston, who distantly follows with 17%, compared with 20% in November 2019. Houston is aligned more closely with the proportion preferring Burrill (at 15%, compared with 14% in November 2019). Trappenberg is most preferred as Premier by 9% of the electorate, and Bethell 1%. Twenty-two percent of voters are undecided on the matter of leadership, while 6% prefer none of the leaders.
These results are part of Narrative Research’s Atlantic Quarterly®, an independent, quarterly telephone survey of Atlantic Canadians, and are based on a sample of 800 adult Nova Scotians, conducted from February 5 to 24, 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. 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 at @EveryNarrative.
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For more information, please contact:
Margaret Brigley, CEO, Narrative Research at 902.493.3830 (W) 902.222.7066 (M), mbrigley@narrativeresearch.ca
