Affordability and Healthcare top Issues influencing Canadians’ voting decision

Toronto, ON, September 29, 2022 – As concerns over COVID-19 have receded for the majority of Canadians this month, more pressing issues have resurfaced that have been swelling since pre-pandemic days. According to a recent Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News, affordability (40%) and healthcare (35%) are top-of-mind issues for Canadians that are most likely to influence their voting decision for the next election. Given the volatile housing market and increasing doubts in the government’s ability to solve the healthcare crisis, Canadians are prioritizing financial safety and stronger management of the country’s healthcare system. When asked which political party Canadians think is the best to deal with the two issues, most said no party is adept at dealing with either affordability (34%) and healthcare (30%). The economy and housing follow as other important issues according to Canadians at 23% each.

Little Faith in Political Parties to Address Issues Surrounding Affordability and Healthcare

With sentiment towards the government lowering to new depths of apprehension, Canadian confidence in political parties to appropriately address the country’s top issues is marginal. Three in ten (30%) Canadians say that no one single party is likely to deal best with the cost of living, contending that all parties are all the same. Similarly, most Canadians said housing affordability/availability and the cost of living cannot be dealt with by any party, 42% and 34% respectively.

While Canadians do not feel any political party is better equipped to deal with affordability or healthcare, they feel the Conservatives are in a better position to deal with the economy (42%) and inflation (33%), while they look to the Liberals and the NDP to deal with climate change at 25% each, and the Liberals to best manage extremism / terrorism (37%).

Top Three Issues in Canada Affecting Voting Decisions

Affordability and the cost of living (40%) is the most important issue in determining how Canadians will vote at the election polls. Canadians earning below $40K (49%) are more likely to say affordability is the deciding factor that will influence their decision at the polls, as are Canadians between the ages of 18-34 (50%). Healthcare (35%) follows closely behind as one of the most important issues among Canadians in swaying their election vote, more so among women (39%) and Atlantic Canadians (58%).

The economy (23%) and housing affordability/availability (23%) are tied for the most important issues in determining Canadian voting decisions; interest rates/inflation followed close behind at 22%. Canadians earning over $100K are more likely to see the economy as the most important issue impacting their vote at the election (30%). For housing concerns, women (31%), Quebec (26%) and Ontario residents (23%) and Canadians earning less than $40K (35%) say their vote will be most affected by this issue.

Top Ten Issues Canadians Say Will Affect Their Vote

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between September 19-20, 2022, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,002 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the 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:

Darrell Bricker
CEO, Ipsos Public Affairs Canada
+1 416 324 2001
[email protected]

Sean Simpson
Senior Vice President, Ipsos Public Affairs Canada
+1 416 324 2002
[email protected]

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