TORONTO —
Canadians are more likely to say Gov. Gen. Julie Payette is doing a poor job in her post rather than a good one, according to a new survey by Nanos Research.
The survey, which was commissioned by CTV News and released Wednesday, was conducted between Aug. 31 and Sept. 3 and asked a random selection of 1,039 Canadians over the age of 18 to rate Payette’s performance as Governor General.
The participants were asked one question for the survey: Would you say that the Gov. Gen. Julie Payette “is doing a good job, somewhat good job, somewhat poor job or a poor job?”
Overall, 53 per cent of respondents said she was doing a poor or somewhat poor job while 20 per cent said she was doing a good or somewhat good job in the role. Another 27 per cent of those surveyed said they were unsure.
Payette has been under scrutiny in recent months after allegations came to light that her staff at Rideau Hall have been subjected to workplace harassment and mistreatment. She has also been under fire in regard to reports that she ordered expensive renovations at Rideau Hall that weren’t completed.
While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has recently come to the defence of his Governor General, the Privy Council Office has hired a third-party consulting firm to conduct a “thorough” review into the allegations of harassment within Payette’s office.
For her part, Payette has said she welcomes the review and is “deeply concerned” by the allegations.
The Nanos survey also noted regional differences when it came to how the Governor General was perceived by Canadians living in the western provinces being more likely to have a negative view of her work than those in the east.
Canadians in the Prairies appeared to be the most critical of Payette’s efforts with 40 per cent responding that she is doing a poor job. They were followed by those in B.C. where 37 per cent said she was doing a poor job.
Respondents in Quebec, on the other hand, viewed Payette’s performance more favourably than those in any other province with only 18 per cent saying she was doing a poor job and 28 per cent saying she was doing a good or somewhat good job.
Those in the Atlantic provinces were the second-most approving of the Governor General’s work with 25 per cent saying she was doing a good or somewhat good job.
In Ontario, only 18 per cent of those surveyed said Payette was doing a good or somewhat good job while 35 per cent viewed her work as poor.
In addition to regional differences, the survey also found that attitudes towards the Governor General varied when it came to the gender and age of the respondents.
Men were more likely than women to disapprove of Payette’s work with 34 per cent saying she is doing a poor job and 25 per cent replying that she’s doing a somewhat poor job. That’s compared to 29 per cent of women who responded that she’s doing a poor job and 19 per cent believing she’s doing a somewhat poor job.
In terms of the age of those surveyed, respondents who were 35 to 54 years of age held the most negative view of the Governor General with 55 per cent saying she’s doing a poor or somewhat poor job. They were closely followed by those in 55 years or older age range at 54 per cent and those aged 18 to 34 years old at 49 per cent.
METHODOLOGY
These observations are based on an RDD dual frame (land- and cell-lines) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,039 Canadians, 18 years of age or older, between Aug. 31 and Sept. 3 as part of an omnibus survey. The margin of error for this survey is plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
This study was commissioned by CTV News and the research was conducted by Nanos Research.
With files from The Canadian PressÂ
