HALIFAX – A recent poll conducted by Abacus Data indicates that the approval rating for Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston’s government has seen a partial recovery after experiencing a significant drop following substantial budget cuts in February.
The online survey revealed that 35 percent of respondents approved of the government’s performance, marking a five-percentage-point increase since July. Previously, in January, support for the government was notably higher at 44 percent. However, by May, that approval had plummeted to 31 percent due to the impact of a budget that involved over $300 million in spending cuts.
The cuts led to widespread protests, prompting the premier to reverse certain decisions, notably reinstating $53 million in reductions that primarily affected grants for individuals with disabilities and seniors, as well as programs for African Nova Scotians and Indigenous students.
In terms of electoral support, the survey indicated that 40 percent of those polled would choose Houston’s Progressive Conservatives, a figure that remains unchanged since July. Conversely, the Opposition New Democrats saw a slight increase, rising two points to 33 percent, while the Liberal Party's support remained steady at 22 percent.
The Abacus report highlights a significant observation: "The Houston government’s approval and right-direction numbers have therefore improved without producing an increase in PC vote share. Instead, the NDP has made a modest gain while the governing party continues to hold its ground."
The research involved responses from 600 Nova Scotians, collected between August 8 and September 5. According to the research firm, the survey data were weighted to align with census figures, ensuring that the sample accurately represented Nova Scotia’s population by factors such as age, gender, education, and geographical region.
It's worth noting that the Canadian Research Insights Council, which promotes polling standards, states that online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error due to the lack of random sampling of the population.
