Nanos Research finds Canadians optimistic, even cheerful

A high dollar, an early winter, buck a litre gas, and some bad hockey clubs doesn’t appear to be making Canadians cranky. According to pollster Nik Nanos, folks are feeling very upbeat. Not so upbeat that the federal government will want to call an election, but the feedback should give retailers and the Bank of Canada something to latch onto.

The first annual Nanos “Mood of Canada” Poll shows 65.8 percent of Canadians believe the country is heading in the right direction, while only 20.2 percent believe Canada is moving in the wrong direction, and 14 percent didn’t know:

“The poll of 1,004 Canadians, conducted November 6 to 8, by telephone is accurate to within a margin of 3.1 percent, 19 times out of 20.

Looking forward from the end of 2007 to the beginning of 2008, when we asked Canadians whether the economy would become stronger or weaker in the next year, there was a striking degree of optimism. By a margin of 2 to 1, Canadians think the economy will get stronger. Half of all Canadians, 49.3 percent, think the economy will get stronger over the next year, while only 19.8 percent believe it will get weaker. One Canadian in four, 24.9 percent, thinks there will be no change.

The Prime Minister and his government get very high marks from Canadians. The Harper government gets a very good rating from 10.1 percent of the voters, and a good one from 29.4 percent. Another 38.1 percent give the government an average report card, while only 9 percent give it poor performance marks, and 9.4 percent rate it as very poor. However, there is a continuing caution for Prime Minister Harper in the voting intention numbers, as measured in other Nanos polls, as well as in those by other public opinion research firms. The Conservatives continue to be unable to cross the threshold of a majority, largely due to a gender gap and the resilience of the Liberal Party brand in Ontario. These are strong reasons for Harper to approach any election scenario with caution.”

MRM