EDMONTON — Some Albertans have turned sour on Premier Danielle Smith, according to a new poll released on Thursday, as individuals on both sides of the Alberta independence movement express frustration with how she has handled the situation. "UCP leader Danielle Smith has spent recent weeks apparently unsuccessfully trying to thread the needle on separation: insisting she does not support Alberta leaving Canada, while also putting a question exactly about that directly before voters," reads a segment from the Angus Reid Institute's latest Premiers’ approval polling report. Smith's approval rating among ARI respondents dropped by 7 percentage points since March to 39%, 3 points below the previous low in December 2022. The latest poll is ARI's first since Smith announced that Alberta's October referendum will include a question asking Albertans whether they want Alberta to remain in Canada or whether they would like her government to begin the process required to hold a binding Alberta independence referendum.."Critics have accused Smith of legitimizing separatism and creating economic uncertainty," the ARI report reads. "Separatists, meanwhile, have argued the question does not go far enough because it does not actually ask Albertans whether they want to leave Canada, only whether they want to start the process of having a referendum about leaving."Polling from Leger released on June 5 echoes a similar sentiment, with 53% of respondents saying they disapprove of how Smith has handled the Alberta independence movement.Some Alberta independence supporters, who comprise a large portion of UCP members, have expressed feelings of betrayal by Smith, claiming that she has turned her back on those who elected her. This has led some, including the prominent independence advocacy group Stay Free Alberta, to seek a UCP leadership review to hold Smith accountable. "How do they expect people to be happy about what they're doing when they get clear direction from their base, and then they find a reason not to do it?" said SFA leader Mitch Sylvestre in an interview with the Western Standard in May. "I wouldn't expect anything but a hostile reaction from the people, especially based on what's been going on for the last three or four or five years in this country." Leger's report showed the UCP with a shrinking lead over the Alberta NDP among respondents if an election were held at the time of polling, with the race sitting at 49% to 40%..B.C. Premier David Eby, who has fired a number of shots at Smith and Alberta independence supporters in recent weeks, has his own problems at home, according to the ARI report. Their polling gave Eby a 31% approval rating among B.C. respondents, down 6 percentage points since March as he continues to deal with the province's issues involving DRIPA, property rights, and First Nations rights. His problems are amplified by the B.C. Conservative Party's regroup, including a tightly contested leadership race won by Kerry-Lynne Findlay on May 30. A Leger poll released in June showed that Findlay's party held a 45% to 41% lead over Eby's if an election were held at the time of polling. .Ontario's Premier Doug Ford continues to see the lowest approval rating in Canada, according to ARI, with his approval dropping 10 points to 21%. Ford has faced backlash in Ontario for numerous reasons, including the purchase of a $28.9-million government jet, which he later returned under public pressure, and for firing a number of teachers and health care workers. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew was the only premier to have a positive approval rating amongst ARI's respondents, sitting at 62%. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham both received 50% support from ARI's respondents.
