Telephone Poll Shows Ed Stelmach’s approval ratings at 59.7%

January 30, 2008 (Saskatoon, SK). An independent political poll conducted by telephone with 803 Alberta residents shows six-in-ten approve of Ed Stelmach’s performance as premier (59.7%). However his support is soft with 42.5% offering a “somewhat approve” rating, and 17.2% giving a “strong approval” rating. More than one-quarter (27.0%) disapprove of his performance (either somewhat or strongly disapprove), and the remaining 13.4% are unsure.


“We believe it is significant that our findings from a telephone survey versus the Internet,” said Corrin Harper, CEO, Insight Research, Inc. “A phone survey better captures wider demographics – notably seniors who typically vote but are less likely to have access to the Internet.


The poll, conducted by Insightrix Research, Inc. of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was administered by telephone to a random selection of Alberta residents from January 8th to 13th, 2008 and is accurate to within ±4.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.


While six-in-ten Albertans approve of Ed Stelmach, constituents are more critical of how the Progressive Conservatives are currently running the province. Specifically, 43.2% comment the party is doing either an ‘excellent job’ (4.1%) or a ‘good job’ (39.1%) of running the province. However, a greater percentage (53.7%) feel the party is doing a ‘fair job’ (42.1%) or a ‘poor job’ (11.5%). Few Albertans (3.2%) are undecided.


Albertans’ outlook on the provincial economy nets towards the negative, with a greater proportion believing it will “get worse” (23.3%) over the next six months, compared to those who feel it will “get better” (16.5%). Well over one-half (56.1%) believe the economy will “stay the same” during this time period, and 4.1% are unsure.


Albertans are divided as to whether the PC’s are doing a better job or worse job of running the province since Ed Stelmach was sworn in as Premier, in comparison to when Ralph Klein was leader of the province. Specifically, over one quarter (27.3%) believe the PC’s are doing a somewhat worse or much worse job of running the province compared to 29.6% who believe they are doing a somewhat better or much better job. More than one-third believe they are doing about the same (37.8%) and 5.3% are undecided. Calgarians, and those living in central and northern Alberta are more likely to believe the PC’s are doing a worse job of running the province compared to those in Edmonton and southern Alberta.


Despite lower ratings with regards to how the PC’s are currently running the province (53.7% offering ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ ratings), the Progressive Conservative Party continues to show solid support in terms of voter intentions, with 48.2% reporting they would vote for or are leaning towards this party if an election were held today. Support levels for other major parties include 18.1% for the Liberals, 8.2% for the NDP, 7.1% for the Green Party and 4.1% for other parties. A total of 14.4% either do not plan on voting or are undecided as to who they would vote for.


Among decided voters (removing the 14.4% noted above), more than one half claim they would vote for the PC’s (56.2%). A total of 21.2% support the Liberals, 9.5% the NDP, 8.2% the Green Party and 4.8% other parties. Those more likely to vote PC include men and individuals above the age of 34 years. Further, women are more likely than men to vote for the Liberal party.


About Insightrix

Founded in 2001, Insightrix Research Inc. is a full service market research firm that helps clients develop, administer and manage data collection and information strategies. From their office in Saskatoon, Insightrix offers a comprehensive range of research services.


A total of 803 Albertan residents were contacted by telephone. The data are weighted to ensure representation by age, gender and region categories. The margin of error associated with this sample size is ±4.9 percentage points 19 times out of 20. Error rates for subgroupings of the sample are larger.

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