Ontarians are very displeased with Ontario Premier Doug Ford when it comes to cost of living, healthcare, housing and education, according to a new Angus Reid poll.."The only issue for which the government receives more praise than condemnation is its ongoing handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, chosen as a top priority for just 8% of Ontarians," said the authors of the survey..The cost of living/inflation and healthcare crises are the top issues for 63% and 61% of Ontarians, respectively. Other issues were marked as less important for Ontarians, including housing affordability (34%), the environment (23%), education (21%), street crime (13%) and government spending (13%.).Across all matters, except the response to COVID-19, Ontarians said the provincial government has done a poor job. A total of 81% of Ontarians said the province has done a poor job on healthcare, 80% say it did a a poor job on housing affordability, 78% on cost of living, 77% on poverty and homelessness, and 67% on the drug addiction crisis..Ontarians also believed their government did a poor job on public safety (59% unfavourable), the economy/jobs (56%), government spending (54%), and indigenous issues (52%). But on COVID-19, only 46% believed the government did a poor job, compared to 49% who said they did a good one..Angus Reid said Ontario’s government ranks below average on the Angus Reid Institute’s Government Performance Index, which averages the number of constituents who say the government is doing a good job on issues surveyed. "This has been the case throughout Ford’s tenure as premier, even in times when the government earned more praise from Ontarians," the polling company said..While a majority of Ontarians said the Ontario government did a poor job handling education (68%), those who have children in school were more likely to say the Conservatives did a good job (36%) than those without children (25%). This reflects attitudes about the provincial government invoking the notwithstanding clause to prevent education workers from striking..Ford was most likely to be blamed for the education strike (45%), followed by Education Minister Stephen Lecce (41%), the union representing the education workers (32%), and the workers themselves (8%)..Despite the governing Progressive Conservative's unpopularity when it comes to virtually all issues, the party would still win an election if one were held today. They would gain a total of 37% of the vote, followed by the NDP at 27%, the Liberals at 25%, and the Greens at 6%.
