Despite this country's bleak economic picture, Canadians are among the most optimistic about when the global economy will recover, as well as about their own financial standing, a new report says.
A survey conducted by Environics Research Group in Ottawa found that while seven in 10 Canadians believe the economy is getting weaker, that same proportion of people believe the recession will last no longer than two years.
As well, 40 per cent of Canadians believe that their own financial fortunes will improve within the next six months, ranking them among the most optimistic of the 19 countries included in the survey.
Tony Coulson, vice-president of Environics, said Wednesday that Canadians are worried about the global economic slowdown and the bad news coming out of the United States, in addition to the fact that the country is deep into a recession.
"But it hasn't hit us as badly as it has hit other places," Coulson told CTV.ca. "And I think people are looking at that saying, okay, maybe we will come through this okay. And that's why they're feeling a bit optimistic about the future."
Coulson said that Canadians are also likely buoyed by the moves governments around the world are making to turn around their nations' finances, as well as by the fact that, unlike in other countries, Canada's banking system has remained strong.
The survey found that people in Ireland are the least optimistic about their economy, with a whopping 93 per cent saying the economy is getting weaker. Officials there have said they only have enough money to sustain a budget until the fall, Coulson said, which means "you can't help but lose confidence at that point."
Respondents in China were the most optimistic, with only 20 per cent saying the economy was getting a bit weaker and only three per cent saying it was getting a lot weaker.
As well, while about half of Canadians believe the current economic crisis is the worst they have experienced in their lifetime, nearly 90 per cent of Americans feel this way.
And despite news of record job losses in Canada and a national unemployment rate of 7.7 per cent, the survey found that only 30 per cent of Canadians are concerned about losing their job.
Coulson said that could be because many of the layoffs have occurred in specific industries, such as manufacturing, and have hit towns that depend highly on these industries.
"There are some communities that are really hurting, and probably people who live in those areas or in areas similar to them -- factory towns or places that are highly dependent on a certain industry -- that's where you would find the concern," Coulson said.
The survey polled nearly 16,000 people in 19 countries in early February. The findings were released at the International Research Institutes Conference in The Hague.
