10 Years Out - Albertans Still Positive About Ralph Klein and his Government
These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/CFRN/CHED poll conducted between January 22nd and January 28th, 2003. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 800 adult Albertans. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Albertan population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Albertan population according to the 2001 Census data.
Three Quarters (76%) of Albertans Say Province Has Become a "Better Place to Live" Since Klein Was Elected 10 Years Ago
Ralph Klein celebrated his tenth year as premier on December 16th 2002. Looking back on his ten years in office, three quarters (76%) of Albertans say that the province has become a "better place to live" during that period of time. This includes 30% who say it has become a "much better" place to live and 46% who say it has become a "somewhat better" place to live. Only one in five say it has become a "worse place to live", with 7% saying "much worse" and 13% saying "somewhat worse".
- Men (83%) are more likely than women (70%) to say Alberta has become a "better place to live" since Ralph Klein was first elected.
- Younger Albertans (ages 18-34) are more likely (82%) to say the province has become a "better place to live" than those aged 35-54 years (72%).
- Central Albertans (86%) are more likely to say Alberta has become a "better place to live" over this period of time than those living in Edmonton (73%) and Southern Alberta (73%).
Two Thirds (67%) Approve of his Performance as Premier
More personally, many (67%) Albertans approve of Klein's performance as premier (31% "strongly approve", 36%, "moderately approve") with three in ten (32%) who disapprove (19% "strongly disapprove", 13% "moderately disapprove"). This is essentially unchanged from September 2002.
When asked on an open-ended basis which qualities Albertans like most about Klein, the most frequently mentioned response is "being straightforward/forthright" (17%) followed closely by "honesty" (13%). "Down to earth" (10%) rounds out the top three.
Approval ratings for the Liberals' Ken Nichol (46%) and the ND's Raj Pannu (52%) continue to be mostly favourable but both are characterised by low "strongly approve" numbers (5% -Nichol, 11% - Pannu) and a lack of awareness among a quarter of the electorate. 24% say they cannot offer an opinion on Ken Nichol's performance as Leader of the Opposition and 22% say they cannot offer an opinion about Raj Pannu's performance as leader of the New Democrats.
- Ralph Klein: Approval of the Premier is highest among men (73%), Calgarians (73%) and those with a high school education or less (72%).
- Ken Nichol: The leader of the Official Opposition receives higher approval ratings from those aged 18-34 years (53%). Disapproval ratings are higher among men (35%) and tend to increase with age. Those living in Edmonton (49%) and Southern Alberta (58%) provide higher approval ratings than do Calgarians (40%).
- Raj Pannu: The leader of the New Democrats earns higher approval ratings from Edmontonians (63%) and those with a university degree (57%). Disapproval ratings are higher among men (31%) and tend to increase with age.
63% Would Support a Fourth Term For Klein and PC's (50% Support) Continue to Dominate Alberta`s Political Scene
Ralph Klein fares a lot better than other politicians with similar lengths of tenure. Even after ten years and much change, six in ten (63%) Albertans say they would support "Ralph Klien running in the next provincial election and seeking a fourth term as premier." This includes a third (34%) of the population who would "strongly support" this, and 29% who would "somewhat support" his re-election. Only one in three (32%) would oppose his re-election (23% "strongly oppose", 9% "somewhat oppose").
Klein's personal popularity outpaces that of his party. Nonetheless, the PCs continue to receive more than double the support of their closest rival - the Liberals. If an election were held tomorrow, 50% of decided voters say they would support the PCs, compared with 24% who would support the Liberals and 15% who would support the New Democrats. Only 6% would support the Alberta First Party and 2% would support Social Credit.
After a brief increase in support in November, the PCs have dropped down nine points from 59% to 50%. Similarly, after a brief decline in support, Liberals and the ND are both up marginally. The Liberals gained three points (within the margin of error - from 21% to 24%) while the ND is up four points (just outside the margin of error - from 11% to 15%).
- Support for the PC is higher among men (54%) than women (47%) and higher among Calgarians (59%) and Central Albertans (57%) than Edmontonians (41%). Support for the PCs also tends to increase with age and household income.
- Support for the provincial Liberals is highest among those aged 18-34 years (35%) and Edmontonians (30%) and is lower among Calgarians (18%) and Northern Albertans (19%).
- Women (18%) are more likely than men (12%) to support the ND if an election were held tomorrow.
To view the release and tables, please open the attached PDF files.
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For more information on this news release, please contact:
Tim Olafson
Senior Vice-President
Western Business Unit
Ipsos-Reid
(403) 237-0066
