A poll of Canadians has revealed that 67 per cent of the public believe that the country is “broken” as housing and food costs soar along with concerns over the country’s healthcare system.
The poll, conducted by Postmedia-Leger and released on Monday, claims that over two-thirds of Canadians agree with the statement that the country is “broken”, following comments made last November by Conservative Party (CPC) leader Pierre Poilievre.
According to the poll, many Canadians are concerned about various issues from the rising costs of food, to Canada’s runaway housing prices, which have soared to unaffordable prices relative to household incomes.
Andrew Enns, an executive vice-president at the market research company Leger, who conducted the poll, told the National Post newspaper, “I didn’t think it would be that high. I thought maybe it was more a noisy minority as opposed to a prevailing majority opinion.”
“If you’re in government, regardless of what level — federal, provincial, or municipal — these are your customers, the general population. They all interact with you in some form or fashion, and these are their opinions. And they’re basically saying we don’t like how business is running right now,” he added.
The polling also found that 50 per cent of Canadians would describe themselves as being angry compared to 42 per cent who said they were happy regarding how the country was being managed, with just four per cent saying they were very happy.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has insisted that Canada is not broken, has been at the forefront of much of the anger expressed by Canadians, including at a recent appearance in Hamilton, Ontario in which he was surrounded by angry protestors labelling the Canadian leader a tyrant and a “traitor.”
Among the angriest, according to the poll, are those from the western province of Alberta, with 30 per cent stating they were”very angry” at how the country was being managed.
Since Trudeau became Prime Minister in 2015, Alberta has seen a surge in popularity of the “Wexit” movement of Alberta separatism, with current Alberta Premier Danielle Smith championing and passing the “Sovereignty Act” aimed at reducing the power of the federal government in the province.
What made Canadians the angriest, according to the polling, were rising costs of living and inflation, which has seen food prices soar and more and more Canadians turning to food banks in order to feed themselves in record numbers.