Canadians Much More Positive
About Country Than Last Year
More think country moving in
the right direction, better off now
TORONTO May 13th, 2016 - In a random sampling
of public opinion taken by the Forum Poll™ among 1517 Canadian voters just days
after the 6 month anniversary of the new Liberal government, fully one half now
say the country is moving in “the right direction” (48%), compared to just one
quarter who took that position last summer (August 2015 - 26%), and one third
in January of that year (January, 2015 - 32%). Just more than a third think the
country is moving in the wrong direction now (37%), well down from one half in
August and January (50% each). One tenth thinks the country is moving in
neither the right nor wrong direction (12%).
Those who think the country is on the right track are most
likely to be the oldest (52%), the wealthiest ($100K to $250K - 55%), in Quebec
(53%) and BC (52%), among Liberals (77%) and among the best educated (post grad
- 57%). Those who think the country is on the wrong track are likely to be mid
aged (45 to 54 - 42%), male (41%), in mid income brackets ($40K to $60K - 43%),
in Alberta (53%), among Conservatives (80%) and among the least educated
(secondary school or less (43%).
More than twice as many think
Canada better off now than a year ago
Close to one half of Canadians say the country is better off
now than it was a year ago (46%), and this compares to just one fifth who said
this in 2015 (January, 2015 - 20%). One third now say the country is worse off
(33%) and this is down just slightly from last year (January, 2015 - 36%).
Those who think Canada is better off now are most likely to
be the youngest and the oldest (50% each), mid income respondents ($60K to $80K
- 50%), in Quebec (60%), among Liberals (71%), Francophones (62%), and among
the best educated (58%). Those who think we are worse off are the mid aged (45
to 54 - 37%), males (38%), mid income groups ($40K to $60K - 40%), in Alberta
54%), among Conservatives (80%), among Anglophones (37%) and among those with
some college or less (36%).
Majority see Canada becoming more
small “l” liberal
More than half the electorate sees the country becoming more
small “l” liberal (53%), well more than the proportion seeing us becoming more
small “c” conservative (15%). This is in strong contrast to last year, when
close to 4-in-10 saw us becoming more conservative (January, 2015 - 38%) and
just one quarter saw the coming Liberal surge (25%)
Those seeing the country becoming more liberal are similar
to the groups described above who think the country is moving in the right
direction and is better off - the youngest, wealthiest, in Quebec, among
Liberals, Francophones and the best educated. Those very few who see the
country becoming more conservative include the younger mid aged (35 to 44 -
18%), males (18%), the less wealthy ($20K to $40K - 22%), in Ontario (18%) and
among Conservatives (22%).
Of interest, those who foresaw the Liberal surge in January,
2015 (25%) were most likely to be 35 to 44 (27%), in Ontario (28%) and Liberal
voters (34%), but not so much Quebeckers (20%).
One half rate new government
performance positively, one fifth as “excellent”
One half of Canadian
voters give the new Liberal government a positive rating (“excellent/good” -
50%), and almost one fifth rate it as “excellent” (19%). Those who rate the new
government most positively are older (55 to 64 - 22%), in mid income groups
($60K to $80K - 26%) and the wealthiest ($100K to $250k - 24%), in Atlantic
Canada (23%), Liberal voters (35%) and the best educated (post grad - 29%).
“The most notable finding here is the deep political
polarization. Belief the country is on the right track, is better off and is
becoming more liberal, and a high rating of government, all these transcend
most demographic groupings except political affiliation; Conservatives are
deeply unhappy, even after six months of the new government. On the other hand,
the broad support the government enjoys, and the broad belief in better days is
an indication of why this government is still admired by the electorate, long
after a traditional honeymoon would be over,” said Forum Research President,
Dr. Lorne Bozinoff.
Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. is
the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at lbozinoff@forumresearch.com
or at (416) 960-9603.
