Canadians are not confident in the long-term prospects of their personal finances and national economic growth: Canadian Chamber of Commerce/Nanos Poll

(OTTAWA) – February 9, 2022 – Canadians lack confidence in their economic prospects over the next decade, both for themselves and the country, according to a new survey from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Nanos Research.

Confidence that Canada’s economic growth will be strong over the next 10 years had an average confidence score of only 5.4 out of 10. When asked if their personal financial situation will be strong over the next 10 years, the average confidence score was only slightly higher at 5.9 out of 10.

Chief among the economic concerns for Canadians are the rate of taxation, responding to climate change, and labour market issues. Nearly one quarter of Canadians (24%) ranked high taxes as the top challenge to Canada’s economic growth. This number was highest among middle-aged Canadians (32% of those age 35-54), Ontarians (30%), and men (28% vs 21% for women).

One in five Canadians (21%) ranked climate change as the top challenge to Canada’s economic growth. This concern was highest for younger Canadians (28% of those 18-34), as well as those in Quebec (26%) and British Columbia (25%).

“More than half of Canadians surveyed feel ambivalent or pessimistic about whether they will be better off over the next decade. This suggests an economy stuck in a slow-growth trap, with financial gains expected for some but not for others. We need bold policies to restore confidence, not only to recover from the economic damage wrought by COVID-19, but to ensure our standard of living in the decades ahead,” said Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in advance of today’s Canada 360° Economic Summit. 

Canadians remain unconvinced of Canada’s ability to reduce greenhouse gases without undermining economic growth, with an average confidence score of only 4.6 out of 10. More respondents expressed pessimism (35%) than optimism (33%) on this issue, with notably more pessimism in the Prairies, among men, and middle-aged Canadians.

“The only way to pay for our social and climate ambitions is to get serious about economic growth. Simply continuing our anemic performance from the past quarter century won’t work when the enormous costs of climate change and adaptation have to be covered. Canada needs policies to encourage new investment, including for the small businesses that are so important to every Canadian community,” added Beatty.

The most positive survey results came through on questions regarding Canada’s ability to encourage workforce diversity and being a place where businesses can succeed.

• Canadians have a higher level of confidence that Canada can be a place that encourages workforce participation from a diversity of individuals, with six in 10 Canadians having strong confidence (60%, mean of 6.7 out of 10). This result was consistent across region, gender and age.

• Over half of Canadians (55%) have strong confidence in Canada being a place where businesses can succeed (mean of 6.3 out of 10). Confidence was higher in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, for women and among older Canadians.
• Finally, Canadians expressed only a limited degree of confidence in the reliability of Canada’s supply chains (mean of 5.5 out of 10).

For more information about the poll, click here for the full polling results.

About the Canadian Chamber of Commerce — The Future of Business Success

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is Canada’s largest and most activated business network — representing 450 chambers of commerce and boards of trade and more than 200,000 businesses of all sizes, from all sectors of the economy and from every part of the country — to create the conditions for our collective success. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the undisputed champion and catalyst for the future of business success. From working with government on economy-friendly policy to providing services that inform commerce and enable trade, we give each of our members more of what they need to succeed: insight into markets, competitors and trends, influence over the decisions and policies that drive business success and impact on business and economic performance. 

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Contact

Phil Taylor

Canadian Chamber of Commerce

E-mail: ptaylor@chamber.ca (fastest response time)