In spring 2024, most Canadians aged 15 years and older reported feeling at least a little or somewhat hopeful about the way democracy works in Canada. When asked to think about the future, 71% said they were a little or somewhat hopeful about the way democracy works, while 12% reported being very hopeful and 17% reported being not at all hopeful.
A new study entitled, “Taking the pulse: Perceptions of democracy in Canada,” uses data from the 2024 Survey Series on People and their Communities to examine Canadians’ hopefulness about the way democracy works in Canada and how it varies across population groups. The study also explores how hopefulness is associated with trust in information sources, confidence in institutions and participation in political activities.
In 2024, respondents who were very hopeful about the way democracy works in Canada were more likely to report feeling high confidence in the federal parliament (67%) than those who were a little or somewhat hopeful (38%), while those who were not at all hopeful were less likely to report feeling high confidence (11%).
Similar patterns were observed for confidence in the Canadian media, the school system, the justice system and courts, banks and major corporations.
In 2024, Canadians who were very hopeful about the way democracy works in Canada were more likely to report feeling high trust in news outlets (59%) than those who were a little or somewhat hopeful (43%), while those who were not at all hopeful were the least likely to report feeling high trust (17%).
Similar patterns were observed for trust in government communications (across levels of government) and scientific sources. People who were more hopeful about democracy consistently reported higher levels of trust in these information sources than people who were less hopeful. In contrast, levels of trust in close personal contacts and other Internet sources were similar across the three groups.
In 2024, reported voting rates for the 2021 federal election were similar regardless of respondents’ level of hopefulness about the way democracy works in Canada. However, differences emerged for other forms of political participation. People who were not at all hopeful (57%) were more likely to report participating in one or more other political activities in the previous 12 months than those who were a little or somewhat hopeful (44%) or very hopeful (44%).
People who were not at all hopeful about democracy were more likely to sign a petition (27%) and search for information on a political issue (47%) than those who were a little or somewhat hopeful (17% for signing a petition; 32% for searching for information on a political issue). People who were not at all hopeful about democracy were also more likely to boycott or choose a product for ethical reasons (26%) compared with those who were very hopeful (15%).