Majority of Canadians believe national economy is on the wrong track: poll

Two-thirds of Canadians believe the national economy is on the wrong track and don’t believe it will improve in the short-term, according to a new poll.

The poll from Canada Pulse Insights for CityNews found that only 33 per cent believe the economy is heading in the right direction.

Only three in 10 believed that the national or their local economy would improve over the next 60 days.

The survey was taken ahead of the spring economic update that projected a deficit of $66.9 billion for 2025/2026, lower than what was projected in the 2025 budget, and includes $54.5 billion in new costs and spending.

Pollster John Wright tells CityNews the country is pessimistic because of uncertainty and because people don’t see the country moving economically.

“The attitude of Canadians is at a contrary level to where the government presented its economic statement the other day,” said Wright.

“It was upbeat about, we’re doing well, and the economy is moving forward, and we’re having some modest growth, and it’s got a smaller deficit. But that doesn’t help Canadians when they’re looking at high gas costs at the pump, what they’re spending now at the grocery store. It’s that bread and butter issue.

“We are in the process of a wave of inflation that could sweep through here, that will really put Mr. Carney and the government to [the] test,” added Wright.

Younger Canadians, ages 18 to 34, and middle-aged Canadians, ages 35 to 54, were more likely to believe the economy is on the wrong track than those aged 55 and older, while views were pretty consistent across income levels.

Meanwhile, those in Alberta at 73 per cent believe that the economy is on the wrong track compared to those in the Prairies and Atlantic Canada at 69 per cent.

In Ontario, 68 per cent felt the economy was on the wrong track, while 65 per cent of those in British Columbia and 64 per cent of those surveyed in Quebec believed the same.

The expectations for improvement were the highest in Ontario at 31 per cent believe the national economy would improve in the next 60 days, followed by Alberta at 29 per cent and Saskatchewan/Manitoba at 28 per cent.

Expectations for improvement in the next 60 days were the lowest in B.C. at 22 per cent, Quebec at 25 per cent and Atlantic Canada at 26 per cent.

Local economy outlook was the worst in Atlantic Canada, with just 21 per cent of people believing the economy would improve, and it was at 34 per cent in Alberta.

“Oftentimes when you do polling like this, you find discrepancies where there are different demographics and different regions feeling, you know, a great difference. It’s being driven from somewhere. That’s not the case here. This is a malaise, oblique outlook, which is really right across the country and touches every demographic in every region,” shared Wright.

Canada Pulse Insights surveyed 1,511 Canadian adults powered by the SAGO online panel platform, March 21-25, 2026. The results have a comparable margin of error of ± 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20