Canadians’ Satisfaction With Federal Government at ‘All-Time Low’: Poll

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pauses while speaking about the Israel-Hamas war during a news conference at lithium battery manufacturer E-One Moli Energy (Canada), in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Nov. 14, 2023. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

Feelings of “satisfaction” among Canadians regarding the federal government has reached an “all-time low,” according to a new poll, with one in three Canadians saying they feel “anger” toward the Liberal government.

The national survey, conducted by the firm Nanos and released on April 17, said that just 11.3 percent feel “satisfied” with Ottawa and 10.4 percent reported feelings of “optimism.” The numbers have dipped since a previous poll in September 2023 when 15.3 percent expressed satisfaction and 12 percent reported optimism.

Meanwhile, 31.1 percent of Canadians said they feel a sense of anger, the highest since November of 2018 and the first time anger has passed the 30 percent mark.

When anger and the feelings of “pessimism” are combined they total 62 percent of all the respondents, the largest ever recorded by Nanos and a substantial increase from the previous survey conducted in September of last year, where both feelings totalled 58 percent.

Feelings of anger are by far the greatest among those in the prairies with 44.6 percent of respondents saying they had such feelings toward the federal government, while Quebecers expressed the least amount of anger at 24.1 percent.

Quebecers were also among the most optimistic, second only to Atlantic Canadians who despite having 38.2 percent of respondents feeling anger, 15.4 percent reported feeling optimistic.

Anger across age groups was similar, although those aged 18 to 24 were the most angry with the government.

The feeling of anger among 31.6 percent of young people aged 18 to 34 comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has touted his 2024 federal budget as being geared toward younger adults and helping them succeed in the Canadian economy.

Earlier this week, Mr. Trudeau spoke ahead of a meeting with the Liberal caucus, saying that a rise in capital gains taxes would allow Millennials and Generation Z to enjoy the same sorts of benefits from the Canadian economy as their parents and grandparents had.

As part of his plan, Mr. Trudeau is looking to increase the capital gains inclusion rate from 50 percent to 66.67 percent on capital gains over $250,000 in a single year.

The Liberals have continued to struggle in polls against the Opposition Conservatives for several months.

The Tories opened up a 20-point lead ahead of the Liberals in an Abacus Data survey published last week, the largest lead for the Tories ever measured by the polling firm as the party reached 44 percent.

Abacus Data CEO David Coletto noted that the survey had been taken prior to many of the 2024 budget announcements made by Prime Minister Trudeau and his cabinet and that polling in future weeks could determine the impact of the Liberal budget on voter opinion.