Affordability and well being care topped the checklist of Canadians’ high points in 2025, whereas the decline of the Canada–U.S. relationship dominated the yr’s greatest information tales for Canadians, in keeping with new polling performed by Ipsos on behalf of International Information.
“Affordability ranked primary on the problems Canadians targeted most on this previous yr, overwhelmingly,” Ipsos Public Affairs CEO Darrell Bricker instructed International in an interview, adopted intently by well being care, “and never as a result of Canadians are completely happy about it,” he stated.
Forty-one per cent of these polled stated affordability and the price of dwelling have been an important subject in Canada, adopted by well being care at 38 per cent.
The financial system (28 per cent) and housing (27 per cent) adopted as the following most necessary points, underscoring what Bricker described as persistent nervousness about family funds and entry to fundamental companies.
Bricker stated the findings present the pressures of affordability and housing are felt most acutely by youthful Canadians.
The ballot suggests a intently divided political panorama, with the Liberals and Conservatives every seen as strongest on 5 of the highest 10 points. Conservatives held a slight benefit on affordability-related issues, whereas Liberals have been seen extra favourably on well being care and the financial system.
“Often what you discover is the occasion that wins the election is the one which’s seen as doing the very best job on an important subject,” Bricker stated. “Apparently, within the final election, that wasn’t the case. The problem of affordability was on the high of the checklist and the Conservatives have been main on that, however the Liberals ended up profitable.”
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Whereas affordability topped the checklist, Bricker stated the Liberals benefited from a commanding lead on managing relations with the US — a problem the place they continue to be far forward of the Conservatives. Canada’s relationship with its southern neighbour, he stated, continues to outweigh even affordability issues for a lot of voters.
“They’re nonetheless 39 factors forward on who’s greatest in a position to cope with that subject. . . The Liberals have an enormous, big lead (there).”
Following affordability and value of dwelling, healthcare and the financial system within the high three respective spots, the opposite high points for Canadians have been as follows: housing, immigration, Canada’s relationship with the U.S., rates of interest and inflation, taxes, unemployment/jobs, and crime and violence coming in final.
Canada–U.S. tensions, world conflicts formed how Canadians noticed the yr’s greatest tales
The Canada–U.S. relationship additionally dominated Canadians’ evaluation of the yr’s greatest worldwide information tales.
Greater than half — 56 per cent — of respondents stated U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have been the highest story globally, adopted by one third who pointed to Trump’s return to the White Home. The conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza ranked third and fourth, respectively.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump maintain a press convention on the White Home in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Bricker stated Canadians say they see these tales as deeply interconnected.
“We see (the highest information tales) as overwhelmingly dominated by issues that Donald Trump has touched,” stated Bricker, including that lots of the tales Canadians are watching contain actions “being carried out to Canada, or they’re observing being carried out by Donald Trump and his administration.”
“So (Trump) is built-in into all the pieces that Canadians are proper now.”
Ipsos additionally discovered rising pessimism about world conflicts. Canadians are intently following wars overseas, Bricker stated, “however they’re not watching it with any diploma of optimism.”
The ballot discovered the remaining high worldwide information tales to Canadians in 2025 have been the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, the developments on the Epstein recordsdata, the rise of synthetic intelligence applied sciences, the assassination of proper wing activist Charlie Kirk, world pressures from migration and immigration, and Elon Musk’s actions inside the Trump Administration’s Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE).
As for home tales of the yr, 42 per cent of respondents stated 2025 was most outlined by the deterioration of Canada–U.S. relations, narrowly edging out protection of the rising price of dwelling at 41 per cent. The election of Prime Minister Mark Carney ranked third at 33 per cent.
The opposite high home tales have been the Canada Publish strike, Justin Trudeau’s resignation as Prime Minister, the Toronto Blue Jays making it to the World Collection, the homelessness disaster, immigration coverage adjustments, the Air Canada strike, and in final place the chapter and everlasting closure of Hudson’s Bay.
Each surveys have been performed on-line between Dec. 8 and 15 amongst 1,502 Canadians aged 18 and over. The outcomes have been weighted to replicate the nationwide inhabitants and are thought of correct inside a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 proportion factors, 19 occasions out of 20.
