There is a significant gap when Canadians aged 55 and over assess Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre.
Vancouver, BC [September 25, 2025] – While most Canadians believe the country’s financial standing is not ideal at this point, there has been a marked increase in positive perceptions over the past five months, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 62% of Canadians say the economic conditions in Canada are “poor” or “very poor” today, down six points since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in April.
More than a third of Canadians (35%, +6) rate the country’s economic conditions as “very good” or “good”.
Almost half of respondents in Atlantic Canada (49%) rate Canada’s current financial situation positively. The proportions are lower in Quebec (43%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (40%), Ontario (36%), British Columbia (29%) and Alberta (28%).
Equal proportions of Canadians predict that the Canadian economy will decline (39%, -4) or remain the same (also 39%, +8) in the next six months, while just 15% (-1) expect an improvement.
In spite of the positive momentum on the country’s economic standing, inflation concerns continue to be prevalent across the country. More than three-in-four Canadians (76%, +1) expect to pay more for a week’s worth of groceries in the next six months, and two thirds foresee higher prices for a new car (68%, -2) and gasoline (67%, +15).
Smaller proportions of Canadians—yet still majorities—predict higher prices for a new television set (55%, -2) and real estate (52%, =) in the next six months.
There is little change on the question related to personal finances, with 50% of Canadians (+1) saying their situation is “very good” or “good” and 47% (-1) deeming it “poor” or “very poor”.
Compared to April, there is a noticeable decrease in the proportion of Canadians who have worried “frequently” or “occasionally” about specific financial setbacks.
About half of Canadians have been concerned about the safety of their savings (50%, -5) and the value of their investments (49%, -6) in the past couple of months. Fewer than two-in-five have worried “frequently” or “occasionally” about unemployment affecting their household (39%, -4), being able to pay their mortgage or rent (also 39%, -4), or their employer running into serious financial trouble (32%, -5).
“More than half of Canadians aged 18-to-34 (52%) have worried about making their mortgage or rent payments,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “The level of concern is only slightly lower among their counterparts aged 35-to-54 (46%).”
Two-in-five Canadians (40%, +5) trust Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem to do the right thing to help the economy.
The numbers did not move significantly for the country’s top federal leaders, with a majority of Canadians (58%, -1) trusting Prime Minister Mark Carney on economic management, and more than two-in-five (44%, +1) expressing the same view about federal opposition leader Pierre Poilievre.
As was the case in April, most Canadians aged 55 and over (63%), aged 18-to-34 (57%) and aged 35-to-54 (52%) trust Carney to do the right thing to help the economy. Poilievre’s numbers on this question are best with Canadians aged 18-to-34 (49%) and aged 35-to-54 (48%), but drop among those aged 55 and over (37%).
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from September 10 to September 12, 2025, among 1,003 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our data tables here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca