The Yukon Party's popularity keeps on plunging.

Marsh Lake-based polling firm DataPath Systems released the results of a poll today that shows Yukoners satisfaction with the governing party has fallen for the third straight poll.

The 300-people surveyed were asked to rate their satisfaction on a scale of one to five, with five being high.

In last month's poll, the percentage of people who rated the Yukon Party at either a four or five was at 17 per cent.

In a poll shortly after the November 2002 election, 27 per cent of Yukoners rated the Yukon Party in the top two categories.

That rating dropped in May 2003 to 22 per cent.

'While we are seeing quite a drop for the Yukon Party, they are still more popular than the Liberal party was at the last election,' Donna Larsen, a partner in DataPath, said in a press release.

The highest rating the Liberal party achieved was 12 per cent in the summer of 2001. That rating was as low as six per cent right before the 2002 election when the Grits lost all but one seat leader Pat Duncan's in Porter Creek.

'However, one concern the Yukon Party should pay attention to is the increasing level of Yukoners who are extremely dissatisfied with them,' Larsen said.

This latest poll shows 44 per cent of Yukoners rating the Yukon Party's performance a one or a two on the satisfaction scale.

'This is the worst rating observed since we started the poll in the fall of 2000,' the release stated.

But in an interview from Ottawa, Premier Dennis Fentie denounced the poll results.

'The only important poll is the election,' Fentie said.

It was noted to Fentie it could be too late when that poll is taken but he did not reply.

Instead, Fentie chose to talk about Prime Minister Paul Martin's slumping poll numbers.

Larsen said the survey showed certain reasons for the rise in dissatisifaction.

The poll found 33 per cent of Yukoners feel the territory's economy is in critical condition higher than seen in any previous poll. Last summer, this rating was at 23 per cent.

Two other issues seen as affecting the drop in satisfaction are the handling of two cabinet ministers' companies' outstanding loans to the government, and the 2003 investigation into government employees' computer misuse.

Asked how well they felt the Yukon Party handled the outstanding loans issue, 70 per cent of Yukoners were extremely dissatisfied, giving a rating of one or two. The companies involved are ministers Peter Jenkins' and Archie Lang's.

Similarly, 61 per cent of Yukoners rated the handling of the computer/e-mail investigation as poor.

Two other issues were included in the survey, with less negative ratings, Larsen said.

The study found 36 per cent of Yukoners disapproved of the management of land claims in Watson Lake. As well, 37 per cent showed poor ratings of the handling of information concerning Fentie's heroin trafficking conviction in the mid-1970s.

The poll found the Yukon Party is more popular in the communities than in Whitehorse.

'This is a critical area, since so many seats are elected in Whitehorse,' said Larsen.

In Whitehorse, 46 per cent expressed low (one or two) ratings, compared to 37 per cent in rural Yukon.

Only 14 per cent of Whitehorse residents rated the Yukon Party a four or five (positive) score. This rose to 25 per cent in the communities.

'One factor which is likely influencing this is the relationship with their MLA,' Larsen said.

'Rural residents rated their MLA higher than Whitehorse residents rated theirs, and they were also more likely to have seen their MLA in person, compared to Whitehorse residents,' Larsen said.

The Yukon Party has five of the nine seats all or partially in the communities and seven of the nine urban seats.

Another area for the Yukon Party to focus on, Larsen stated in the release, is the difference in satisfaction between government employees and the private sector, she found.

Only 12 per cent of government employees rated the party a four or five, compared to 22 per cent of those in the private sector.

More than half (51 per cent) of government employees rated the Yukon Party as poor (one or two scores).

'Government employees in Whitehorse can have a significant impact come election time,' Larsen said.

The 300 telephone surveys were conducted between Jan. 15 and Feb. 8. Half of those surveyed were in Whitehorse and the other 150 were in the communities. The results were then weighted to accurately represent Yukoners based on the community they live in, their age and gender, Larsen said.

Percentages are statistically valid to plus or minus 5.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20 (95-per-cent confidence).

DataPath Systems paid for the poll.