A new poll that looks at the popularity of premiers across Canada contains information that could please both supporters and detractors of B.C. Premier Christy Clark.

In a poll published Thursday by Mainstreet Research/Postmedia, Clark received an approval rating of 39 per cent, compared to 52 per cent who disapproved of her performance, and nine per cent who weren't sure.

Seven months away from a provincial election, it's an approval rating the B.C. Liberals would likely want to be higher.

But that figure still puts Clark in the middle of the pack, compared with how people in other provinces approve of their leaders.

When ranked highest to lowest on approval, Clark finishes fifth, trailing Prince Edward Island's Wade MacLauchlan (55 per cent), Manitoba's Brian Pallister (54 per cent), Saskachewan's Brad Wall (52 per cent) and Nova Scotia's Stephen McNeil (42 per cent).

And it shows an improvement for where Clark stood in the eyes of British Columbians earlier this year, based on polls done by the Angus Reid Institute in May (27 per cent) and September (34 per cent).

"It's hard to go much lower than 27 per cent," said UBC political scientist David Moscrop.

"There's always a base number of people that will like you no matter what, and they were getting close to it."

B.C. Premier Christy Clark's approval rating within the province, as measured by the Angus Reid Institute in their quarterly survey of all premiers across Canada. (Angus Reid Institute)

Moscrop said the government's actions on cooling Metro Vancouver's housing market, including instituting a new tax on foreign buyers, probably improved their perception with some members of the public.

"They've now got an issue they can potentially win on, or at least defend on, so not to lose critical ground," he said.

But he also said the B.C. Liberals are beginning to enter campaign mode, and are launching the party's first election ad.

"The Liberals have so much money, they don't know what to do with it, and [there's] every indication they're going to raise more. They have the ability to get into drawn-out advertising battles well outside the election period."

The poll surveyed 659 British Columbians, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.82 per cent.