Satisfaction with provincial governments across Canada has declined sharply over 2025 as residents express widespread frustration with core public policy issues such as the cost of living and health care, according to the latest report from the Angus Reid Institute. The non-partisan research group’s Government Performance Index, which aggregates public views on 16 issue areas weighted by their importance to residents, shows a national average of 26 at year-end, down from 34 in March of the same year. 

Saskatchewan registers the highest provincial score at 35 while Ontario sits at the bottom with a score of 20. Alberta’s score of 32 places it above the national average yet behind its neighbour Saskatchewan in overall perceived performance. The index reflects a year-long trend of declining public confidence in provincial governments’ capacity to address the challenges most salient to their constituents, with health care and cost-of-living concerns driving much of the negative sentiment.

Across the provinces, residents of Alberta rank the high cost of living, health care and education among their most significant concerns. A substantial majority of Albertans judge the provincial government’s stewardship of these files as inadequate, with particularly strong criticism directed at health care performance. Public dissatisfaction on the education file has intensified in the wake of teacher labour disputes and legislative interventions in the schooling sector. 

While supporters of the governing United Conservative Party (UCP) express relatively more confidence in the handling of economic issues than in other areas, discontent remains pronounced on core quality-of-life measures. Albertans’ views reflect broader national trends identified in the Angus Reid Institute’s data, which indicate that even in provinces with higher index scores, citizens are broadly critical of government performance on the matters they consider most important.

The Angus Reid report is based on an online survey conducted among a representative sample of Canadian adults from late November to early December 2025, assessing provincial government performance across multiple policy dimensions as prioritized by residents themselves.

Source: Angus Reid Institute