Canadians are stressed about the economic situation and have little confidence in politicians or governments to handle these major issues, a new poll suggests.
The annual CanTrust Index published by Proof Strategies asks Canadians about their level of trust in everything from political leaders to businesses, media, bankers and scientists.
The 2024 edition shows that fear of economic hardship, such as a recession or unemployment, appears to generate higher levels of anxiety than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were surprised to see how much anxiety has risen,” said Bruce MacLellan, president of Proof Strategies.
“Two-thirds of Canadians report currently feeling anxiety and stress. »
Women in particular reported higher levels of economic anxiety and lower levels of trust in the health care system and Canadian democracy than their male counterparts.
Nearly three in four women surveyed said the economy had increased their levels of anxiety and stress, compared to fewer than three in five men surveyed.
“If people don’t feel like they’re being treated fairly, if they feel like they’re not progressing or not taking care of their family, they start to lose confidence,” Ms. .MacLellan.
He cited in particular the “values question,” which asks respondents to rate a list of core values that represent Canada.
“When it comes to women, every single one of them has fallen and their confidence that Canada lives up to its values is declining. »
Politicians falling
The poll also suggests that Canadians’ trust in the country’s political leaders to allay these fears continues to sink to new depths, according to Mr. MacLellan.
“I think the biggest problems are the behavior of politicians and the fact that they don’t contribute to or build trust,” he said.
Trust in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has plummeted over the past 12 months, he added: while 36 per cent of those surveyed thought he was doing things right for Canadians a year ago, only 25 % think so now.
Last month, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland cited concern over the cost of living and housing when asked why her government was doing so poorly in the latest opinion polls.
Opposition leaders are not faring much better: public confidence in them is only slightly higher than that of Mr. Trudeau. About 32 per cent said they trust Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre or New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jagmeet Singh to do the right thing.
Overall, trust in politicians was a measly 17 per cent, which Mr MacLellan said should be a wake-up call to those fighting for votes.
Fewer than one in four respondents believed that any level of government — federal, provincial or municipal — would be able to solve the affordable housing crisis.
Only one in three respondents said they believed Canada would meet its national climate goals, while just under half of respondents said they trusted the federal government to respond in the event of a natural disaster.
At the provincial level, 47% said they trusted the provinces on education, and 44% on public health.
Glimmers of hope
There were some glimmers of hope for some institutions or organizations.
In the 2023 survey, only 30% of respondents had confidence in Hockey Canada, months after the national sports body saw its entire board of directors resign amid investigations into its handling of allegations of sexual misconduct against players.
This year, confidence in Hockey Canada jumped to 41%.
The news media is also doing better. Some 56% of respondents said they trust traditional media to provide reliable information, and 49% say the same about journalists.
However, this is far behind the trust placed in doctors (78%), scientists (74%) and teachers (68%), but well ahead of bankers (40%) and religious leaders (30%).
“These are brutal times for trust,” MacLellan said. Polarized politics, economic tensions, simple deliberate misinformation – and yet it is encouraging to see the trust in the news media and the growing trust in experts, like scientists and doctors. »
As part of this survey, 1,501 Canadian adults responded to a questionnaire between January 3 and 13. Online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not sample the population randomly.