(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The views of Canadian adults on the state of their country’s finances are shifting, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 23 per cent of respondents think the Canadian economy will improve, up 12 points since January.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The views of Canadian adults on the state of their country’s finances are shifting, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 23 per cent of respondents think the Canadian economy will improve, up 12 points since January.
Conversely, 52 per cent of respondents believe things will remain the same, and 20 per cent forecast a decline, down 19 points in three months.
Overall, 60 per cent of respondents rate the economic conditions in Canada today as good or very good, while 37 per cent deem them bad or very bad.
Canadians renewed the House of Commons in October 2008. The Conservative party—led by Stephen Harper—received 37.6 per cent of the vote, and secured 143 seats in the 308-member lower house. Harper assembled a minority administration. The Tories also earned a minority mandate after the 2006 election, ending more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party.
Since 2007, defaults on so-called subprime mortgages—credit given to high-risk borrowers—in the United States caused volatility in domestic and global financial markets and ultimately pushed the U.S. economy into a recession. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The crisis has affected the global financial and credit systems.
In late January, Canadian finance minister Jim Flaherty presented the federal budget, which predicts a $70 billion U.S. budget deficit over the next five years, and includes a $33 billion U.S. economic stimulus package, as well as tax relief aimed at the lower and middle class.
Canada’s unemployment rate stood at 8.0 per cent in March 2009, up from 7.7 per cent the month before and the highest level in seven years.
Yesterday, Flaherty discussed the current state of affairs, saying, "I think we are seeing some small encouraging signs, signs of more confidence, an improvement in the bond markets, some improvement in capital markets, some more confidence overall in the economy. But having said that, we are going to see significant unemployment, we are seeing significant unemployment. That’s one of the very regrettable things about employment losses is that they tend to sharply go off and then take a gradual return."
Polling Data
Over the next three months, do you think the Canadian economy will improve, remain the same, or decline?
|
Apr. 2009 |
Jan. 2009 |
Dec. 2008 |
|
|
Improve |
23% |
11% |
7% |
|
Remain the same |
52% |
43% |
37% |
|
Decline |
20% |
39% |
49% |
|
Not sure |
5% |
7% |
7% |
How would you rate the economic conditions in Canada today?
|
Apr. 2009 |
Jan. 2009 |
Dec. 2008 |
|
|
Very Good / Good |
37% |
40% |
40% |
|
Poor / Very Poor |
60% |
54% |
56% |
|
Not sure |
4% |
6% |
5% |
Source: Angus Reid Strategies
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,003 Canadian adults, conducted on Apr. 8 and Apr. 9, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
