The COVID effect – As the first anniversary of the pandemic hitting Canada approaches, Canadians hold the highest trust levels for scientists and doctors, while politicians and employers are sliding down the trust scale. A resounding 85 per cent of Canadians also agree that it is very or extremely important for citizens to have access to fact-based journalism. Canadians want advice from experts and information based on facts, both traits that support a healthy democracy.
The results come from the 2021 Proof Strategies CanTrust Index, one of the largest studies of trust by Canadians in leaders, sources and institutions. The survey of 1,517 Canadians was conducted January 8-20, 2021 and follows a year of pandemic disruption and deaths, racial inequalities coming to a boiling point and an economic recession affecting millions of workers.
“Canadians are telling us very clearly who they trust to get us through the pandemic, and the advice they want comes from labs not legislatures and medicine not management,” said Bruce MacLellan, President & CEO of Proof Strategies.
The three most trusted sources of “reliable information” in general are doctors at 81 per cent, scientists at 77 per cent and friends and family at 64 per cent. Educators are trusted by 62 per cent. In contrast, business executives are trusted by 24 per cent and politicians by 18 per cent.
The CanTrust Index, now in its sixth year, has consistently shown high trust levels among Canadians for their key public services such as healthcare, education and the military. Canadians trust government services and the public sector, but not the politicians who oversee it.
“While conspiracy theories and polarization are major issues south of the border, Canada is in a healthier state of trust. Our scientific and medical community should be at the decision table and encouraged to keep speaking the truth,” added MacLellan.
Other survey findings with The COVID effect:
- Trust in hospitals remains strong at 67 per cent and trust in the Canadian healthcare system is at 63 per cent
- Trust in Canada’s military is at 58 per cent, with the highest trust in Quebec at 62 per cent
- Facebook remains one of the least trusted companies at 24 per cent, compared to Shoppers Drug Mart as one of the most trusted at 56 per cent
- Canadians are divided about how the pandemic has made them feel toward fellow citizens, with 31 per cent saying they feel more together and united, 44 per cent saying they feel no difference and 26 per cent saying they feel less together and united. Atlantic region residents, at 37 per cent, are most likely to feel more united and only 14 per cent of them feel less together.
Who can Canadians Trust for reliable information about COVID-19 and vaccines?
For reliable information about COVID-19, 63 per cent of Canadians trust Canada’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, 61 per cent trust their provincial health officer and 59 per cent trust the World Health Organization. The influence of CEOs in discussing the pandemic is limited, as only 24 per cent trust this group on the topic of COVID-19. In the middle, 46 per cent of Canadians say they trust journalists for COVID-19 information.
Overall, 64 per cent of people say they trust the vaccine to be safe and effective. Among lower income Canadians, trust in the vaccine is significantly lower at 50 per cent.
“Our research indicates that lower income and younger Canadians in particular have the most significant levels of vaccine hesitancy,” said Vanessa Eaton, Executive Vice President at Proof Strategies. “In order to achieve optimal vaccination levels, we need to better understand their concerns so we can better address them. A communication strategy, grounded in medical expertise and fact sharing, is needed to help increase trust and build a bridge from where we are today to where we need to be in months from now.”
Seven-in-ten Canadians are checking news sources regularly for pandemic updates, with 28 per cent checking multiple times a day and 42 per cent checking every day or so, underscoring both the dominance of the issue and the trust in the news media.
Employers receive falling grades with the COVID effect
Canada’s employees are giving a poor grade to their own employers about their capacity to build trust during this pandemic. Overall, employees give employers a D grade in January 2021, down from a C- in January 2020. Frontline service workers, a group severely tested by the pandemic, have dropped the grade of their employers from C- to D-.
Trust in large corporations remains very low at 27 per cent. Similarly, trust in management is at 28 per cent and boards of directors at 26 per cent. In positive findings, trust in Canadian financial markets increased over the year from 36 per cent to 43 per cent.
“The dismally poor representation of gender and diversity on Canada’s boards is certainly undermining trust. When people don’t see themselves reflected, they can’t trust their interests are considered,” said MacLellan.
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