Members of Parliament from across Canada return to the House of Commons today for their first sitting of the year with a multitude of issues in front of them.

Léger, a Canadian market research and analytics company, conducted a survey for FleishmanHillard HighRoad (FHR) to gauge the views of Canadians on where the federal government should focus its efforts in the year ahead. Questions asked of 1,525 Canadians ranged from the climate crisis to reconciliation and the results are compelling.

We recently unveiled the results in a Public Affairs Outlook webinar that I joined alongside Daniel Fontaine, CEO and Deputy Minister for Métis Nation British Columbia, Jennifer Anthony, Senior Vice President, FHR and moderated by Jackie Asante, Senior Vice President, FHR.

Heather Owen, vice-president at Léger and general manager for its English-speaking offices, took us through her firm’s findings:  

Canadians want Ottawa to prioritize items affecting them personally

Addressing the cost of living, affordability and keeping inflation low were among the items at the top of the list for Canadians. Increasing health care funding along with addressing poverty and homelessness were also high priorities.

On the low end were international affairs and immigration – presumably, Owen says, because these issues don’t affect the daily lives of Canadians. Surprisingly, affordable child-care, which the Liberals campaigned on last fall, was not cited as a top priority.

Pandemic fatigue settling in, along with desire to see a minority government working

Fatigue around COVID-19 is “very real,” Owen says, with two thirds of respondents indicating they want to see the federal government do more to address a post-pandemic recovery.  

The results reflect a strong desire for the minority Liberal government to work together with opposition parties to pass the upcoming spring budget and avoid triggering a non-confidence vote that would plunge the country into another election.  

Desire for climate change to be addressed

Nearly 75 per cent said climate change must be addressed immediately with 72 per cent saying they support a ban on single-use plastics. Interestingly, a majority called on businesses and industry to do more.

Reconciliation critical to changing relationship with Indigenous Peoples

Two-thirds of Canadians said reconciliation is critical to changing the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups. Respondents see the federal government as being responsible for fostering the path forward to reconciliation, with business and industry not far behind in having a role to play.

It’s not surprising that cost of living and inflation were top of mind these are core pocketbook issues. When Canadians are concerned about the cost of staples such as eggs and milk politicians need to pay attention.

Anxiety over the pandemic is equally evident and governments across the country are struggling to determine how and when to loosen restrictions. The constant back and forth between government and healthcare professionals may well be contributing to Canadians’ pandemic fatigue.  

It’s also not surprising that there is an appetite for business and industry to do more on climate change. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have done a decent job connecting with progressive voters on this issue, but we haven’t seen much progress under Trudeau since 2015.  

As we begin to look to recovery, the federal government must work with opposition parties to respond to pocketbook issues, address concerns over the impact of climate change and deal with reconciliation in a meaningful way.  

To learn more about FHR Public Affairs, click here.