Quebec Premier François Legault's approval rating continued to rise this summer

Quebec Premier Francois Legault waves at he arrives at the Bernard Landry hydroelectric power station in Eeyou Istchee Baie-James region in Quebec on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Stéphane Blais, The Canadian Press)

Premier François Legault's approval rating continued to rise this summer, according to the Angus Reid Institute.

After reaching a low at the end of 2023, his support rose by three percentage points over the summer to 39 per cent.

Despite this rise in recent months, Legault's popularity remains lower than that of six other provincial premiers.

In fact, only Doug Ford in Ontario and Blaine Higgs in New Brunswick are less popular, according to the Angus Reid Institute's latest quarterly survey, which was released on Thursday and does not include data from Prince Edward Island.

In the poll conducted between Sept. 12 and 18, nine per cent of Quebec respondents said they strongly approve of Legault's work, while 30 per cent said they moderately approve.

Conversely, 37 per cent of respondents said they strongly disapproved of the Quebec premier's work, while 19 per cent said they moderately disapproved.

The overall increase in Legault's rating is explained by an increase of three percentage points in the strong support category compared to June.

The proportion of respondents who disapprove of the premier's work remained stable compared to the previous poll.

After peaking at 77 per cent during the COVID-19 pandemic, Legault's approval rating fell in the following months. His support fell sharply last year, from 57 per cent in Dec. 2022 to 31 per cent in Dec. 2023.

Since the start of the year, however, his approval rating has slowly risen. It reached 32 per cent in March, 36 per cent in June and 39 per cent in September.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 20, 2024.