Young Canadians becoming more pessimistic: Report

CALGARY, AB. (NEWS 1130) – It looks like younger Canadians are becoming increasingly pessimistic about things like the economy, immigration and foreign trade, that’s according to a new report from the University of Calgary.

Author Frank Graves with the School of Public Policy says people have deep anxieties both short and long term.

“In 2002, nearly 70 per cent of Canadians surveyed described themselves as middle class. That figure dropped to just 47 per cent in 2015. Nearly half of those aged 25-44 said they were earning less in inflation-adjusted dollars last year than their fathers earned at the same age.”

“Fewer than one-in-five Canadians believe their personal economic lot improved last year. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents said they had fallen behind economically in the last year and the last five years. When a society sees shared progress as an imperative, it is truly dismal that fewer than one-in-five Canadians thought things had improved for them last year,” explains Graves.

Concerns about the nation’s economic future were a factor in helping elect the Liberals last October, according to the report.

“Their win has infused the gloomy economic mood with a shot of hope. But there is no quick fix. Dispelling gloom and replacing it with optimism will depend on the integrated success of efforts to liberalize trade, redefine attitudes towards immigration and change perspectives on foreign direct investment under the new federal leadership.”