Majority of Canadians optimistic about 2022 despite financial concerns: Ipsos poll

Health and financial security are among the main issues top of mind for Canadians going into next year, according to a new Ipsos poll.

Canadians are ringing in the new year with optimism after a challenging last 12 months that saw the COVID-19 pandemic continue to take a physical, mental and economic toll on people’s lives.

According to a new poll, conducted by Ipsos exclusively for Global News, 67 per cent are generally feeling positive about 2022 despite concerns about their financial well-being, following a year in which the country’s inflation soared to its highest rate in nearly two decades and the cost of living continued to rise.

As 2021 draws to a close, less than half (46 per cent) of Canadians agree that the past year was better than they thought it would be, while 54 per cent disagreed.

Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos public affairs, said compared to 2020 — which was the first full year of the pandemic — not much progress was made in terms of how Canadians felt this year. But he noted that Canadians were feeling “less emotionally urgent” about COVID-19 than before.

“They’re learning to live with it to a certain extent,” he told Global News. “They’re figuring out that it goes through cycles.”

With greater vaccination coverage and better knowledge about how to control COVID-19, there are some “glimpses of sunshine” going into 2022, Bricker said.

“As we look forward to the next year, people are certainly more optimistic about what 2022 is going to look like,” he added.

Financial well-being is among the main issues top of mind for Canadians going into next year.