Nenshi earns high marks, Harper gets failing grade in Alberta flood response survey

In the aftermath of the Alberta floods, last month, all three government leaders showed strong leadership.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Alberta Premier Alison Redford and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi were all very visible and offered financial and moral support to the victims.

It turns out, however, that Albertans were a lot more appreciative of one's efforts over the others.

According to a new poll — conducted by Insights West — Mayor Nenshi scored the highest when 974 Alberta residents were asked: "How would you rate the job that each of the following have in relation to dealing with the effects of the flood?"

82 per cent of the respondents rated Nenshi's performance as "good" or "excellent" while only 43 per cent said the same of Harper.

Redford finished in between the two men with a flood response 'approval rating' of 59 per cent.

[ Related: Flood-devastated Siksika First Nation in need of help, hope: A Yahoo! exclusive ]

Mario Canseco, Vice President of Insights West, told Yahoo! Canada News that he was surprised by Harper's numbers, especially considering the fact that Harper is a Calgary native.

"I think [Harper's numbers] have to do with the fact that despite the situation that we have with the Conservatives governing for quite some time now and having a majority there's still this tendency to look at Ottawa in a negative light," he said.

"They say 'Harper is a good guy but we're not really certain that the federal government will have our back because we don't really trust the federal government as an institution.'"

[ Related: Torontonians praise Nenshi, slam Ford during record-setting storm ]

The survey is really good news for Nenshi who has earned himself rock-star status in Calgary ahead of an October election.

Invariably, his popularity will wane somewhat as he's forced to make tough post flood decisions — Nenshi is already facing some opposition for his idea to use the City's $52 million tax surplus on flood relief.

But with approval ratings north of 80 per cent, he should have no problem holding on.

And don't worry about Stephen Harper. Despite this poll, something tells me he won't have any trouble winning his seat in Calgary Southwest either, come 2015.

The survey of 974 Alberta residents was conducted between July 9 and July 15 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Other findings from the survey:

- 44 per cent of Calgarians surveyed said that floods affected them personally.

- 43 per cent of Alberta residents said that they made a financial donation for flood relief efforts

- 59 per cent of those surveyed believe that climate change played a role in the floods

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