Federal government research has found that Canadians are dissatisfied with how the government is managing the economy and cost-of-living challenges.
A report disclosed on July 20, “Continuous Qualitative Data Collection of Canadians’ Views,” found that “almost all” of those polled “had a negative opinion regarding the federal government’s management of the economy in recent years,” according to Blacklock’s Reporter in an article on July 21.
The Privy Council research, which was drawn from federal focus groups across the country under a $2.4 million contract with The Strategic Counsel, found that Canadians are not happy.
“Several felt that issues related to the rising cost of living, a lack of affordable housing, and low wages had been growing for many years and that the Government of Canada should have been better prepared to assist Canadians with these challenges,” said the report.
“Most thought that the Government of Canada was on the wrong track when it came to alleviating the financial pressures currently impacting Canadian households.”
The report noted that, among those who believed the federal government was on the wrong track, “it was widely felt that recent actions related to health worker shortages, housing affordability, and the rising cost of living had been insufficient towards addressing these issues and that far more needed to be done to assist those struggling financially.”
Cost of Living, Inflation
The federal polling follows remarks by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to the House of Commons on May 8 saying that opposition MPs complained too much about the cost of living.
“What Canadians are desperate about is the gloom and doom and the talking down of Canada and the Canadian economy that they are relentlessly hearing from the grouchy members opposite,” said Freeland. “The reality is that Canada is a fantastic country and Canada is doing really well.”
Among those surveyed, “Almost all believed that rising inflation had impacted a large number of households over the past year and had particularly affected lower and middle-income Canadians, seniors living on fixed incomes, and post-secondary students,” the report said.
It added, “While some expected that the rate of inflation would slow in the next few years, several were concerned that costs would continue to rise in the interim, especially for essentials such as groceries, electricity, and gasoline.”
On July 10, the Bank of Canada raised key interest rates to the highest level in 22 years, the 10th rise since the start of 2022, in an effort to get inflation down to 2 percent, with the bank’s benchmark interest rate sitting at 5 percent for the first time since April 2001.
Food inflation is also at an all-time high. BoC Governor Tiff Macklem told reporters on July 12 that he has “been surprised” by persistently high food prices.
“Bread’s up 13 percent. Coffee’s up 8 percent, baby food’s up 9 percent. If you look at food overall, it is up 9 percent,” said Macklem.
‘Everyday Needs’
In addition, a number of respondents said “more attention needed to be devoted towards ensuring that the everyday needs of Canadians such as health care, affordable housing, and mental health treatment were being met.”
Health care is also an issue on the minds of Canadians. According to the report, some respondents said they felt the health-care system was beginning to become strained and that “this had contributed to health worker shortages, long wait times at emergency rooms and walk-in clinics, and months-long waiting lists to seek appointments with specialists.”
When asked whether their ability to access health care had changed in recent years, several felt that it had gotten somewhat worse, with increasing demand leading to an overburdened system and “occasional delays in accessing service.”
“Almost all expected these issues to persist and believed that the accessibility and quality of health care in their area would worsen in coming years,” said the report.
“Several also felt that more needed to be done to find ways to promote unity among Canadians, with a number believing that a growing divide had emerged in recent years in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the report, which was delivered on Feb. 6 and originally commissioned on Dec. 16, 2021.
