Support For Balanced Budget Increases: POLL

04/04/2023

This is a poll by the non-profit Angus Reid Institute:

After unprecedented spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been increasing pressure in some corners of Canada for the Liberal government to cut costs in pursuit of a balanced budget. The onset of a cost-of-living crisis and the demand for relief it has generated has evidently changed those calculations in Ottawa. The government no longer projects balance by 2028, instead a $14-billion deficit in that year.

Against this backdrop, a new study from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds one-in-three Canadians supporting the increased spending to aid lower-income households and invest in growth, while a larger group, 45 per cent, would prefer tightening in pursuit of a balanced budget.

Politically, division is palpable. Those who voted for the Liberals and New Democrats lean heavily toward supporting the governing party’s budgetary approach, while past Bloc Québécois voters are most divided (24% agree, 44% disagree, 32% unsure). Conservatives are largely unified in their opposition.

The budget also included tens of billions of dollars of clean technology tax credits. Overall, 44 per cent of Canadians say this is a savvy measure to make Canada more competitive – particularly after the United States ramped up investment in this industry the with its own Inflation Reduction Act last year. Two-in-five (41%), however, view this as a business cost subsidy that Canada should not be investing in.

Measures such as dental coverage for lower-income, uninsured households; an expansion of the GST rebate; and an Indigenous housing strategy are met with enthusiasm. Past NDP voters and Liberals alike are near-unanimous in their applause for dental care expansion – a key priority for the New Democrats in maintaining support for the confidence and supply agreement with the Liberals. Even three-in-five past Conservative voters (58%) say this policy is a good one.

That said, the reach and breadth of financial supports are met with an underwhelming appreciation. Overall, 26 per cent of Canadians say their household will feel a real benefit from the larger GST rebate, but just 51 per cent of those who are in “terrible” financial shape say this, suggesting that a one-time boost is unlikely to resolve their challenges.

More Key Findings:

Tax breaks for the clean technology sector are supported by a majority in Quebec (51%) and half in British Columbia (50%) but heavily opposed in Alberta (55%) and Saskatchewan (58%).

Men and women take different views of spending. Women are more likely overall to say this is the right tact for the time (40% to 34%), while men are twice as likely to disagree and say spending levels are too high (57%) versus appropriate (26%).

One-in-three Canadians (35%) say that the dental health benefit announced will help their own household. That includes more than three-in-five of individuals whose household income is below $50,000 per year.