Majority of Canadians believe worst of COVID-19 pandemic is over: poll

A pharmacist works at the 360Care Denman Pharmacy in Vancouver, B.C., Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The majority of Canadians say they think the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is over, according to a new poll by Research Co.

Three-in-four respondents (75 per cent) stated the worst of pandemic is “behind us,” an increase of seven points compared to a similar poll conducted in August, per the survey.

The survey also found that 17 per cent of respondents (down three points from August) believe that worst of COVID-19 is ahead of us, while nine per cent of people (down three points) said they are not sure.

When it comes to whether people still see the pandemic as real threat, 70 per cent of respondents said yes, including 78 per cent among those aged 55.

“We continue to see cautious optimism when Canadians think about COVID-19,” Mario Canseco, President of Research Co., said in a news release. “Significant majorities of Canadians are both convinced that the situation will not worsen but still consider the virus a real threat.”

Data shows the majority (59 per cent) of Canadians (up four points) feel satisfied about how the federal government has tackled the pandemic. Satisfaction with the way Canada's Chief Public heath Officer Theresa Tam managed the pandemic dropped from 66 per cent in May to 60 per cent presently.

Fifty-eight per cent of Canadians (up five points from August) reported being satisfied with how their provincial government has managed the pandemic. Among the four most populous provinces, British Columbia received the highest rating with 68 per cent of people satisfied (up 6 points), followed by Quebec with 62 per cent (up four points), Ontario with 54 per cent (up 6 points) and Alberta with 46 per cent (up seven points).

When it comes to the performance of the top doctors from each of those four provinces, the data shows B.C.’s Bonnie Henry had the highest rating with 66 per cent of people (up three points from May) satisfied, followed by Quebec’s Luc Boileau with 60 per cent (down six points) and Ontario’s Kieran Moore with 59 per cent (down eight points). Alberta residents also seem less satisfied (53 per cent) with the performance of recently appointed Chief Medical Officer of Heath Mark Joffe than they were in May with his predecessor Deena Hinshaw (65 per cent).

METHODOLGY:

The survey was conducted online from Dec. 10 to Dec. 12 and included 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Canada, according to Research Co.

 

Reporting for this story was paid for through The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project funded by Meta.