OTTAWA — Most Canadians think the country is in a recession and that prices will continue to rise for the foreseeable future, according to a new survey.
Leger’s wide-ranging survey asked Canadians and Americans about issues including travel plans, airport delays and inflation.
More than 80 percent of Canadian respondents said they believe prices will continue to rise, and 59 percent said they believe Canada is in an economic recession.
That’s probably not good news for economists or business owners, said Leger vice president Andrew Enns.
“It’s kind of a proxy question for how you feel about the economy,” he said.
“Between that and rising inflation and tightening household budgets, it’s probably not going to be something that’s going to encourage a lot of consumer spending.”
The outlook is just as bleak south of the border, where 64 percent say the U.S. is in a recession, while 19 percent say they don’t know. But only 66 percent of Americans think prices will continue to rise, and 16 percent say things are starting to improve.
The online survey was completed by 1,538 Canadians and 1,002 Americans between July 8 and 10. No margin of error can be determined because online surveys are not considered truly random samples.
Flight cancellations, delays and long lines make 53 percent of Canadian respondents worry about traveling to the airport, while 43 percent say they are not worried and only three percent say they don’t know about the problems.
A similarly small proportion, four percent, said they were unaware of long lineups and delays in obtaining passports — perhaps evidence of how prominent the two issues have been in the news in recent months.
Despite much news about passport delays, less than half of Canadians surveyed said they were concerned about the problem, while 50 percent said it was not a concern.
“I think to really get caught up in this issue, you either have to have a trip coming up and you probably also have to look at the expiration date on your passport,” Enns said.
More than half of Canadians surveyed said they planned to travel within their own province, and another 28 percent said they would travel within Canada. Just over a quarter say they will head overseas, with 16 percent of travelers going to the U.S.
Americans polled were not asked about the passport issue, but 45 percent of them said they were concerned about travel issues. Another 13 percent said they were unaware of the problem.
Only 18 percent said it caused them to significantly change their vacation plans. People under 35 are more likely to say they are changing their plans and also more likely to plan to travel abroad.
Enns said that number – almost one in five – would not sit well with the tourism sector.
“If you’re a tour operator, you run bed and breakfasts or resorts, and we finally have our first summer where we’re free and COVID-free, you’re probably not excited to see some of these stories,” he said.
There seems to be general agreement about what the problem is, with 68 percent of Canadians and 54 percent of Americans saying they think staff shortages are to blame.
But 38 percent of Americans polled say airlines are in short supply, while 43 percent of Canadians think it’s the airports themselves.
A similar proportion — 18 percent in Canada and 17 percent in the U.S. — blamed government restrictions on COVID-19.
People from the Prairies were more likely to believe pandemic regulations were the problem, and those from Atlantic Canada and Quebec were more likely to blame airports.
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