Helping with Everyday Expenses, Investing in Healthcare and Reducing Personal Taxes are Canadians’ Top Budget Priorities

Pocketbook relief and healthcare investments are Canadians’ top budget priorities regardless of the party of their choice.

5 April 2024

The author(s)

Sean Simpson SVP, Canada, Public Affairs

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The main priorities for the federal budget, as indicated by public opinion, include addressing the increasing cost of everyday expenses (44%), enhancing investments in healthcare (38%), reducing personal taxes (33%), freezing the carbon tax (20%), reducing overall government spending (19%), reducing the deficit (18%), implementing measures to cool the housing market (15%), providing significant funding to build new homes (12%), investing in Canada's Armed Forces and defence (11%), spending to support the transition to greener energy (10%), offering incentives for Canadians to lower their carbon footprint (9%), providing help for businesses still struggling with the impact of the pandemic (8%), freezing hiring in the federal public service (6%), considering some other issues (5%), increasing the GST by 1% to help pay for new government services such as pharmacare (5%), expanding the GST rebate for homebuyers (5%), and addressing none of the above (1%)

Older Canadians see greater investment in healthcare as a budget priority (55+ (53%) 18-24 (28%) and 35-54 (30%) while younger Canadians want a focus on measures to cool the housing market (18-34 (24%) 35-54 (16%) and 55+(7%).

Women (53%) are more likely to see helping with the increasing cost of everyday expenses as a budget priority than men (36%), while men want a greater focus on reducing the deficit (23% vs 14% of women).

TOP PRIORITIES BY VOTE INTENTION
Pocketbook relief and healthcare investments are Canadians’ top budget priorities regardless of the party of their choice.

Liberal Party logo Justin Trudeau
Liberal Party
1. Cost of everyday expenses
2. Investments in healthcare
3. Reduce personal taxes

Conservative Party logo Pierre Poilievre
Conservative Party
1. Freeze the carbon tax
2. Cost of everyday expenses
3. Reduce personal taxes

Yves-François Blanchet*
Bloc Québécois
1. Investments in healthcare
2. Cost of everyday expenses
3. Reduce personal taxes

New Democratic Party Logo Jagmeet Singh
New Democratic Party
1. Cost of everyday expenses
2. Investments in healthcare
3. Reduce personal taxes

Elizabeth May*
Green Party
1. Cost of everyday expenses
2. Investments in healthcare
3. Reduce personal taxes

* Small sample size

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between March 15 and 18, 2024, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 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 ± 3.8 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:
Sean Simpson
Senior Vice President, Ipsos Public Affairs Canada
+1 416 324 2002
[email protected]

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