Ontarians feel Doug Ford is doing a poor job on health care and housing, survey suggests

Ontario Premier Doug Ford tours a laboratory ahead of an announcement at a Magna International production facility, in Brampton, Ont., on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

The majority of Ontarians feel the Doug Ford government is doing a poor job tackling a variety of files, including housing affordability, cost of living, and health care, according to a new survey.

The survey, released on Tuesday by Angus Reid, suggests there is a general dissatisfaction with how the government is handling important issues. This dissatisfaction appears to cross party lines, with many past Progressive Conservative voters also indicating the government is doing a poor job handling inflation, health care and housing affordability.

“Ontarians find few bright spots when it comes to assessing the Ontario government’s performance across a broad spectrum of issues,” the survey said. “Two-in-five (39 per cent) believe the PC government has navigated the relationship with the federal government well and as many (37 per cent) say it has done well with the economy and job creation.”

But for all other concerns, fewer than three in ten believe the Ford government is doing a good job.

About 83 per cent of respondents said the government was doing a poor or very poor job dealing with housing affordability, and another 81 per cent said the same for cost of living and inflation.

About 78 per cent of respondents said they were doing a poor or very poor job tackling poverty and health care.

Despite this, about 38 per cent of respondents said they would vote for the PCs if an election were held today.

The Angus Reid poll suggests the Ontario New Democratic Party would be the second choice for Ontarians, with about 30 per cent of respondents saying they would cast a vote for them.

Only about 20 per cent of respondents said they would vote for the Ontario Liberal Party.

However, the survey suggests the new leader of the Ontario NDP still has some work to do. Only about half of Ontarians, including 42 per cent who voted for the party in 2022, say they don’t have an opinion on Marit Stiles.

Stiles officially became the leader of the NDP in February after running unopposed.

Notably, a quarter of respondents who voted Liberal in 2022 said they would cast a vote for the NDP if an election were held today.

The Angus Reid online survey of 861 Ontarians was conducted between March 6 and March 13. Margins of error cannot be assigned for online polls, but a similar telephone poll of the same size would have a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.