Calgary

Albertans are the outliers when it comes to Trump, poll suggests

Albertans are split from the rest of the country on their views of Donald Trump's presidency, according to an EKOS Politics poll released Friday.

Split in support attributed to Trump's stance on oil and pipelines

Albertans view Donald Trump's presidency more positively than other Canadians. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)

Albertans are split from the rest of the country on their views of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, according to an EKOS Politics poll released Friday. 

Trump is viewed much more favourably "by men, the less well-educated, and residents of Alberta," Frank Graves wrote in a report on the poll, which surveyed Canadians by phone on the surprising victory of Donald Trump.  

"While the reactions to the U.S. election are predictably negative, they aren't quite as black as we might have expected," Graves wrote.

Albertans are unique in seeing net positive impacts on them from the Trump victory, the report states. 

It attributes the large split to Trump's support for pipelines and traditional energy. 

Canada's oil and gas firms have said they are hopeful the Trump presidency will translate into approval for the Keystone XL pipeline. 

When asked "overall, what impact do you believe Donald Trump's presidency will have on you and your family," 41 per cent of Albertans responded "positive," compared with just 20 per cent nationally.  

(EKOS Politics )

Albertans were also outliers when asked if they approved or disapproved of the way Trump is handling his job as president-elect of the U.S.

In Alberta, Trump received 47.8 per cent approval. Support was lowest in Quebec, where 21 per cent of people said they approved, followed by British Columbia, with 22 per cent.  

The survey was conducted with 1,949 Canadian adults from Nov. 16-22. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would yield a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.