Every few months, Leger, conducts a study on the performance of the Alberta government. This time, the study was conducted between May 23 and 25, 2025.
Highlights include…
In May 2025, Leger polling data indicates there has been some subtle shifting of the political environment over the last 4 months. The UCP (3 pts) and NDP (2pts) have both decreased in support slightly while the Alberta Liberals have again experienced a significant increase in voting intention, likely due in large part to the success of the Liberals at the Federal level.
Premier Danielle Smith’s approval rating has fallen by 2 percentage points since January 2025, but she continues to be the provincial leader with the highest approval. Meanwhile, NDP leader Naheed Nenshi’s approval has increased slightly, though he remains the second-most popular party leader. While approval ratings for other Alberta party leaders continue to lag significantly behind the top two candidates, ratings for Liberal leader Roggeveen and Alberta Party leader Amantea are up significantly.
Albertans continue to cite healthcare as the most pressing issue facing the province, a position it has held for years. Inflation and rising interest rates, which dominated public concerns in 2023, continue to trend downwards in urgency and have fallen significantly since January 2025. USA tariffs/trade continues remain a moderate issue in May 2025 despite decreases since January, while new addition provincial nationalism/separatism is seen as the most important issue by nearly one-in-ten Albertans.
Despite these shifting concerns, the government’s approval ratings remain mixed. Approval for energy/pipelines and preparation for wildfire emergencies sits at greater than 40%, but all other issues sit below this mark in regard to approval. Homelessness, poverty, housing prices/affordability, health care, provincial nationalism/separatism, jobs/unemployment, relations with the federal government, and economy all have disapproval rates of 50% or greater in May 2025.
Public sentiment on Alberta’s overall trajectory remains divided, with 37% of residents believing the province is headed in the right direction, and just over half saying it is on the wrong track—figures largely unchanged since August 2024. While most Albertans are opposed to an Alberta Pension Plan, support for the idea has increased since January as many unsure Albertans have shifted to be in favour of the idea. Support for Premier Smith’s handling of the USA trade/tariff issue has decreased since January as many unsure Albertans have shifted to a negative view of the issue.
While the vast majority of Albertans are aware of recent allegations involving Alberta Health Services and the awarding of contracts to private surgical providers, nearly half lack detailed information. Greater than half of Albertans believe the government did not act transparently, and greater than two-thirds believe that an independent investigation into the allegations is important.
At the federal level, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party has experienced significant losses in voting intention among decided Alberta voters since January 2025, while voting intention for the Liberal Party has increased significantly since then. That said, the Conservative Party still holds a significant lead in the province with more than half of decided voters intending to vote for the party.
Methodology
This web survey was conducted from May 23 to 25, 2025, with 1,040 Albertans aged 18 or older, randomly recruited from LEO’s online panel. A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey. For comparison, a probability sample of 1,040 respondents would have a margin of error of ±3.04 %, 19 times out of 20.
