2013 Not as Good to Canadians as 2012 in All Areas Except Their Job or Career

Toronto, ON - Heading into the new year, Canadians have had a chance to reflect on 2013 and what it meant to them and their families. In most cases, Canadians don't' think 2013 was as good as 2012 was for them, with one exception (their jobs), although optimism for 2014 is bright, according to a new poll conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of CTV News.

While three quarters (76%) of Canadians say that 2013 was good (23% very good/53% somewhat good) for them and their families, this is down from the 80% that said 2012 was good for their families. Conversely, 24% say that this year was bad for them (7% very bad/17% somewhat), up 4 points.

Moreover, just six in ten (60%) say that 2013 was good (10% very/49% somewhat) for their personal financial situation (down 2 points), while four in ten (40%) say it was bad (14% very/27% somewhat).

The fact that this year wasn't as good for Canadians is reflected in the fact that only a slim majority (54%) believes that the Canadian economy in general was good (5% very/49% somewhat), down 7 points from the proportion who thought the 2012 economy was good. Conversely, nearly half (46%) think that the 2013 economy was bad (9% very/38% somewhat), up 7 points.

Canadians are split on whether 2013 was good for their retirement plans/savings. Half (50%) believe it was good (9% very/41% somewhat), down 2 points, while the other half (50%) think it was bad (18% very/32% somewhat), up 2 points. Interestingly, those who say it was very bad outnumber those who say it was very good by a 2:1 margin.

Modest improvement, however, was seen in one area in 2013 compared to 2012. Among working Canadians, most (77%) say that all things considered 2013 was good for their job and career (21% very good/56% somewhat good), up 2 points. Conversely, only 23% think that the year was bad for them and their career (5% very bad/18% somewhat bad), down 2 points.

Canadians Rate Aspects of their Lives...

Canadians were asked to rate various aspects of their lives. Here is how they assessed their lives, and the change from the very same assessment at the end of 2012:

• Personal happiness: 80% good (down 2 points), 20% bad (up 2 points).
• Health: 79% good (down 3 points), 21% bad (up 3 points).
• Social life: 72% good (down 2 points, 28% bad (up 2 points).
• Financial situation: 61% good (down 2 points), 39% bad (up 2 points).
• Sex or romantic life: 60% good (down 2 points), 40% bad (up 2 points).

Optimism in 2014...

The data also reveal that most Canadians are optimistic for their families and jobs in 2014, cautiously optimistic in areas of financial matters, and forecast an overall improvement over some unmet expectations of 2013.

Nine in ten (87%) Canadians expect that 2014 will be good (29% very/58% somewhat) for their families (down 2 points from last year's expectations for 2013) while just 13% expect it will be bad (3% very/10% somewhat), up 2 points. By comparison, just 76% say that 2013 was good for them and their families.

Nine in ten (85%) working Canadians believe 2014 will be good (24% very/61% somewhat) for their job and career (unchanged), while 15% think the year will be bad for their job and career (2% very/12% somewhat). In contrast, 77% thought 2013 was good for their job and career.

Three quarters (75%) say they expect their personal financial situation to be good (17% very/58% somewhat) in 2014, down 1 point, while one quarter (25%) expect they will be in a bad (7% very/18% somewhat) situation financially in 2014, up 1 point. Just 59% said that 2013 was good for their personal financial situation.

Two in three (64%) believe the economy will be good in 2014 (8% very/56% somewhat), unchanged from last year's expectations for this year, while one in three (36%) think the economy will be bad (8% very/28% somewhat). This is an improvement from the 54% of Canadians who say that 2013 was a good year for the economy.

Just 64% think that 2014 will be good for their retirement plans/savings (14% very good/50% somewhat good), down 3 points from last year's expectations for 2013, compared to 36% who think the year will be bad for their savings (12% very/25% somewhat), up 3 points. The two thirds think their retirement savings will be good in 2014 is much better than the 50% who said that 2013 was good for their retirement plan and savings.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between December 9th to 13th, 2013, on behalf of CTV News. For this survey, a sample of 2,535 Canadians from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case the poll is accurate to +/- 2.2 percentage points of the entire Canadian adult population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
416.324.2002
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid

Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. In October 2011 Ipsos completed the acquisition of Synovate. The combination forms the world's third largest market research company.

With offices in 85 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.

Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of e1,789 billion (2.300 billion USD) in 2012.

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