Albertans most likely to say pandemic restrictions go too far but broadly support measures: poll

Albertans are more likely than those in other provinces to think their government is going too far when it comes to COVID-19 restrictions, according to a new Angus Reid poll.

Even still, the vast majority of respondentsbelieve the restrictions imposed by the provincial government either don't go far enough or are just about right.

The number of Alberta respondents who said the restrictions imposed by the province go too far sits at 25 per cent. Quebec was second for residents believing restrictions are too much at 24 per cent.

B.C. and Manitoba tied for the fewest respondents taking issue with restrictions at 14 per cent each.

Alberta currently has the highest per capita rates of infection in Canada and has been one of the most affected provinces throughout the pandemic.

Despite a quarter of those polled saying the government has gone too far, 27 per cent said it hasn't gone far enough to prevent the spread of the virus and 48 per cent said the restrictions "are about right."

The province with the highest number of respondents saying the government hasn't gone far enough is Manitoba, at 40 per cent, while the Atlantic provinces as a whole appear fairly satisfied, with 59 per cent saying the restrictions are about right.

Alberta was also an outlier when it came to whether respondents thought the premier was doing a good job of handling the pandemic.

While most provinces saw a strong majority of those polled saying their leader was doing a good job with a high of 75 per cent in Quebeconly 51 per cent of Alberta respondentsthought so.

Premier Jason Kenney's numbers have fallen from 67 per cent approving of his handling of the pandemic in two similar polls conducted in April and July, as have those for every other premier.

The online survey was conducted between Aug. 5 and 8 with a randomized sample of 1,511 Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum.

For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/-2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.