Canadians are feeling worried and conflicted as they head toward the fall federal election, according to a new poll commissioned by CBC News.
The survey finds high levels of anxiety caused by both personal and global factors — with the costs of basics like food and gas and the impact of climate change ranking highly on a list of what keeps Canadians up at night.
But the poll also shows Canadians holding conflicting and contradictory views — taking pride in the country's tolerance while also worrying that the country is changing too much, for example, or believing that voting is both a duty and (for a significant minority) a waste of time.
Conducted by Public Square Research and Maru/Blue for CBC News, the poll ran between May 31 and June 10 and saw 4,500 Canadians interviewed online. The survey includes a sample of 3,000 eligible voters and additional samples of 500 respondents from each of three targeted demographics: first-time voters, new Canadians and Indigenous people.
Cost of living tops voters' anxieties
The poll finds that Canadians are concerned about the future for themselves and their families, with 72 per cent saying they are worried or somewhat worried. Just six per cent report feeling optimistic, while 22 per cent are somewhat optimistic.
That optimism was higher among new Canadians; just under half of them said they were optimistic or somewhat optimistic.
New Canadians more optimistic than the rest of the country, poll suggests
Asked what was worrying them most, 32 per cent of all respondents said it was the cost of living — a concern that was highest in British Columbia and among those between the ages of 25 and 44.
An overwhelming 83 per cent who said they were concerned about the cost of living pointed to the cost of basics, like groceries, electricity or gas, while just over half said they were worried about the cost of housing or whether they would have enough to retire.
Second on the list of concerns was climate change, at 19 per cent. Anxiety about climate change was highest in Atlantic Canada, B.C. and Quebec, and among more educated and younger respondents.
The cost of living and climate change ranked as the top two causes of worry in every region of the country, though the cost of living outpaced climate change by margins of more than two-to-one in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Among new Canadians, however, finding a job ranked second behind the cost of living — while among respondents now old enough to vote for the first time, climate change ranked ahead of the cost of living as the biggest worry.
Voters disillusioned with politics
Canadians don't seem to believe that the political parties vying for their votes in October have their best interests at heart — and those who are worried about the future report greater disillusionment with politics.
Fully 88 per cent of those polled said they feel that politicians care more about staying in power than doing what's right, while 47 per cent said that no party represents what they care about most.
This was not a strongly-held view among first-time voters, however. Instead, it was those between the ages of 25 and 65 who were most likely to say that no party aligned with their views.
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