VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – There are just over six and a half months until the next provincial election and Premier Christy Clark’s approval rating is climbing.

The soon-to-be 51-year-old is looked upon favorably by 39 per cent of people in British Columbia.

The difference lies in the disapproval rating, which is at 52 per cent in this province.

“Nationally it’s (also) a 39 per cent approval rating but 28 per cent disapprove. So (she is) much more popular in the rest of the country than just in British Columbia,” says pollster David Valentin with Main Street Research.

“I would say it (disapproval rating) has fallen a little since we measured it earlier in the year and that’s obviously a positive but still, it’s not quite the disapproval rating she might want heading into an election year.”

Clark is one of only five premiers with a national rate of 39 per cent or higher.

Valentin says there are “Only about five premiers actually make a strong national impression, and Clark is one of them,” mainly because of her willingness to get involved on a federal level.

“Really, it’s the premiers who are pushing back on a number of different initiatives. And we see that with Christy Clark who came out in favour of the carbon pricing plan. The premiers are sort of having their own impact on themselves because they’re so involved in national stories,” says Valentin.

None bigger he says, than the new health accord.

Kathleen Wynne has the lowest approval rating in her own province of just 19 per cent, but that jumps to 41 per cent when you look at how the rest of Canada views the Ontario premiere.

Prince Edward Island premiere Wade MacLauchlan has the highest approval rating in his own province at 55 per cent, while at 45 per cent, Quebec’s Philippe Couillard has the highest rating as viewed by the rest of the country.

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