Nearly 60 per cent disapprove of Premier Moe's handling of COVID-19, according to new poll

Opinion on Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has reached a new low, according to an online survey.

About59 per centof those surveyed by theAngus Reid Institute found Moe was doing a bad job handling the pandemic, according tothe organization'sfirst premier's approval poll of 2022.

That compares with 32 per cent of people who didn't approve ofMoe's handling of the pandemic lastJuly.

The latest results, which show 37 per cent thought the premier was doing a good job dealing with the pandemic,were released on Monday.

Pandemic response

The nearly 60 per cent disapproval rating is the highest since the pollbegan tracking pandemic response.

WhileMoe's pandemic response has tumbled, his overall approval rating rose to 45 per cent, up from 43 per cent inOctober, which was the first time itfell below 50 per cent sinceMarch 2018.

In October, Moe's approval dropped 18 percentage points,the sharpest declineof all the premiers.

The most recent results have Moe fifth among nine premiers. Manitoba's new Premier Heather Stefanson was last with 21 per cent. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston received the highest rating at 57 per cent.

Those surveyed were much more pleased with the overall government response, specifically related to its vaccine distribution, with 81 per cent of those surveyed saying the rollout was positive.

About 73 per cent of those surveyed thought the Saskatchewan government did a good job of distributing rapid tests.

The survey was done online between Jan.7 and 12 and consisted of a random sampling of 474 Saskatchewan residents who are members of the Angus Reid Forum.

The margin of error for the Saskatchewan sub-sample size of 474 is +/- 4.5 percentage points.