The weather outside may be frightful, but the majority of Canadians are hoping 2024 will be delightful.
A new poll from the Angus Reid Institute about Canadians’ optimism heading into the new year found that 44 per cent of Canadians surveyed expect this year to offer more good than bad, while 40 per cent expect an average year. Only 17 per cent of people feel this year will be worse than the last.
Attitudes ranged from region to region as well. For instance, a quarter of Atlantic Canadians said they expect more bad than good from this year. That’s the highest rate of pessimism across Canada.
Meanwhile, in Saskatchewan, 52 per cent of people think the year will bring positive outcomes, the highest rate of optimism.
At a time when New Year’s resolutions are still new and fresh, many people are hopeful that they will see some personal improvements this year.
When it came to physical health, 46 per cent said they are hopeful things will get better. Around 41 per cent of people expect things to be on the up and up for their overall quality of life, while 39 per cent said they expect to experience improvements to their mental health.
However, there were some big things weighing Canadians down, namely stress and finances. Twenty per cent of respondents think their stress will worsen in the next year, while 19 per cent of people worry that their financial situation will worsen in 2024.
Younger people were also more worried about stress than their middle aged counterparts. Twenty-seven per cent of respondents under 35 expect their stress levels to increase in 2024, twice as many as those over 54.
Data also shows that those in higher income households are more optimistic about what this year will bring for their personal finances, stress levels, physical health and mental health than those living in lower income households.
METHODOLOGY
This poll was conducted online by the Angus Reid Institute from Dec. 15-19, 2023 among a representative randomized group of 1,516 adult Canadians who are members of Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
