A new poll shows the Liberals failed to convince voters with their latest budget, even though their plan to build millions of homes enjoys broad popular support.
A little less than half of respondents to the latest Léger survey said they had a negative opinion of the federal budget presented last Tuesday.
Only 21% said they had a positive opinion and a third of those surveyed said they did not know or preferred not to answer.
Still, 65% of people said the plan to spend $8.5 billion to build 3.9 million homes by 2031 is good for the country.
The Léger survey, conducted on the weekend of April 20 and 21 among 1,522 Canadians, cannot have any margin of error, because online surveys are not considered truly random samples.
Albertans are the most critical: 42% said they had a very negative impression, compared to 25% nationally. In Quebec, this rate reaches 20%.
Across Canada, more than half of respondents said they supported government plans to spend more on energy efficiency, national defense and student loan forgiveness for health and education workers .
Tax more popular capital gains among young people
Additionally, 56% think increasing the capital gains tax inclusion rate – a move expected to generate an additional $19.4 billion in revenue over the next four years – is a good thing .
The Liberals see the change as essential to their plan to improve generational fairness by taxing the ultra-rich.
The move has drawn criticism, including from the Canadian Medical Association, which warned Tuesday it could affect the country’s ability to recruit and retain doctors.
The budget proposes to make two-thirds of capital gains – profits made on the sale of assets – rather than half taxable. For individuals, this would apply to profits above $250,000, but there is no lower threshold for businesses. Gains from the sale of a principal residence would be excluded.
According to the Canadian Medical Association, many doctors will face higher taxes because they decided to incorporate their practices and used these corporations to save for retirement.
As the Liberals announced capital gains tax changes for younger Canadians, including millennials and Gen Z, the Leger poll found they have the support of 60% of respondents. over 55 – the highest among all age groups.
People aged 18 to 35 are the least supportive of the Liberal plan to spend an additional $73 billion on defense over the next two decades. Only 45% of people in this age group believe that increased spending on national defense is a good thing for the country, compared to 70% of people over 55.
Léger also asked about the country’s financial future. Nearly half of people, or 47%, said they want to see the government cut spending and various programs in order to balance the budget as quickly as possible.
Only 16% believe that spending more and running large deficits is the best plan for the next five years, and 14% want to see the government raise taxes to reduce deficits.