social change

The survey reveals that, in the wake of these events, attitudes in Canada have shifted. There is a growing awareness of the mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, including through the system of residential schools, and a growing willingness to say that the policies of Canadian governments is the main obstacle to achieving economic and social equality.

The events of 2020 have disrupted every aspect of Canadians’ daily lives. What is less clear is the extent to which they have also changed their longer-term outlook.

The third report explores issues relating to identity, values and language.

The killing of George Floyd, an African-American, by white police officers in Minneapolis earlier this year sparked anti-racism protests across the United States and around the world, along with a wider public discussion of anti-Black racism and systemic racism.

Five months after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the Environics Institute for Survey Research and the Vancouver City Savings credit union joined forces to conduct a comprehensive study of public opinion about what Canadians are expecting from their governments, from corporations and from one another.

The survey finds that Canadians tend to have a positive assessment of both the impact of technological change and the value of the post-secondary education and skills training that they have received.

A succession of economic downturns over the last decades has led many to express concerns that the next generation of Canadians will be less, and not more, well-off than the ones that preceded it.

This study confirms the reality of racism in Canada. Also important, it shows that this reality is widely if not universally acknowledged. Many Canadians across different racial backgrounds report experiences of racism and discrimination due to race, and also recognize that it also affects others of their own race and from other racial groups.

Concerns have long been expressed about the extent of influence exercised by powerful or well-connected groups in society over the direction of the government.

In early 2007, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani led the pack of would-be Republican nominees for president – but some worried he was “too metropolitan” for heartland voters.