Unlike U.S. neighbours, most Canadians content with state of their democracy: survey

WASHINGTON — A new survey suggests a majority of Canadians are satisfied with the state of their democracy, a stark contrast with their southern neighbours.

The new Pew Research Center survey found 66 per cent of respondents in Canada were satisfied with how democracy is working, while 33 per cent said otherwise.

Only Singapore, Sweden and New Zealand scored higher on the satisfaction scale.

At the other end of the spectrum, 58 per cent of U.S. participants were dissatisfied, with only Japan, Spain, Italy and Greece reporting higher degrees of disdain.

The Canadian portion of the telephone survey was conducted between March 15 and May 3 among 1,011 respondents.

It carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

“There are six nations — Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand — where the desire for reform is relatively low,” Pew said in a release.

“Fewer than half of those surveyed in all six countries want significant reform to their political, economic or health care systems. Satisfaction with democracy is also notably high in these nations.”

The schism between Canada and the U.S. is especially high when it comes to the political systems in each country.

In the U.S., 85 per cent of respondents said their system of government needs either major changes or total reform, compared with just 47 per cent in Canada.

On health care, 76 per cent of American participants called for similarly dramatic change, with just 43 per cent of Canadians feeling the same way.

Forty-six per cent said they want to overhaul or change Canada’s economic system, compared with 66 per cent of Americans surveyed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2021.

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