Only one-third of Canadians consider the news media in their country to be trustworthy and unbiased, a new Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission research paper says.
“Canadians’ impressions of the quality, variety and depth of content as well as trust in media are relatively weak,” said the Public Opinion Research Tracker, as first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter. The survey the report is based on was conducted by Ipsos Limited.
According to the report, only 36 percent of respondents believe in the trustworthiness of the information provided by the media, and the same percentage feels that news programming offers a variety of perspectives. Furthermore, 37 percent said they are satisfied with the quality of information and analysis available through Canadian news outlets.
Despite these doubts, 45 percent of those surveyed rely on Canadian news media to stay informed about global events and believe that news programming covers a broad range of issues. However, this trust is not uniform across the country.
Confidence in the media is particularly low among younger Canadians, with only 23 percent of those under 34 expressing a high level of trust. Regional disparities are also evident, with trust ratings ranging from 24 percent in Alberta to 42 percent in Prince Edward Island.
“Over three in five Canadians reported a good or great deal of confidence in the police in the fall of 2022, while just under one-third reported a good or great level of confidence in the Federal Parliament or the Canadian media,” said Statistics Canada’s report.
“Overall, more than three in five Canadians (62%) reported a good or great deal of confidence in the police. Just under half of Canadians reported a good or great level of confidence in the school system (47%) and the justice system and the courts (46%). Meanwhile, just under one-third of Canadians reported a good or great level of confidence in the Federal Parliament (32%) or the Canadian media (31%)”
