While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from David Coletto.
What happens when a political leader is both deeply admired and deeply disliked? As Parliament breaks for the week, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and his team may get a brief pause from the daily political grind, but the core of his public image is already well defined. He inspires intense loyalty among his supporters and equally intense opposition from his...
Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives continue to hold a strong lead over their political rivals in Ontario. But our latest survey finds that while the Premier remains dominant, there are signs that some voters are beginning to question whether the government is making meaningful progress on key issues.
Between November 5 and 6, 2025, Abacus Data surveyed 1,916 Canadian adults about the federal political landscape. The poll was conducted in the days following two major political developments: the release of the federal budget on November 4 and the defection of a Conservative MP to the Liberal caucus. These events had the potential to reshape the political narrative. Instead...
A new post-budget survey from Abacus Data, the first of its kind since the Carney government tabled its 2025 federal budget, finds the country divided on the plan, uncertain about the direction, and unclear on the story behind it. While many of the measures tested were well received on their own, the overall narrative remains fractured. The results point to...
Leadership hypotheticals are always speculative, but they’re not pointless. Political leadership is about more than brand management or media presence, it’s the centre of the coalition, the public face of a movement, and often the determining factor in voting behaviour. That’s why we conducted a survey of 2,922 Canadian adults between October 24 and 29, 2025, for the Toronto Star...
As Mark Carney’s government prepares to release its first budget today, Canadians remain far more likely to believe the economy will get worse before it gets better. Yet despite this macro pessimism, many hold steady expectations for their own finances, revealing a cautious but resilient public mood. This survey was done in partnership with The Logic.
From October 24 to 29, 2025, Abacus Data conducted a national survey of 2,922 Canadian adults to explore public attitudes toward immigration and its perceived impacts. The results show that opinions on immigration have stabilized after last year’s sharp rise in skepticism. While most Canadians continue to believe current immigration levels are too high and are contributing to pressure on...
On the eve of Prime Minister Carney’s first budget, my sense is that Canadians aren’t angry. They’re exhausted. They are quite panicked and feel very wary. Our latest Abacus Data polling paints a clear picture: People want the government to keep the ship steady, not slam the wheel. They’re not demanding big, bold change. They’re asking for something far rarer...
Between October 24 and 29, 2025, Abacus Data surveyed 2,922 Canadian adults about the current political climate. The findings suggest a political environment that remains remarkably stable despite several flashpoints, including Donald Trump’s abrupt withdrawal from trade talks with Canada and Pierre Poilievre’s controversial remarks about the RCMP’s handling of Liberal-linked investigations. With the federal budget set to be tabled...
With the 2025 federal budget set for November 4, new polling from Abacus Data for the Toronto Star finds Canadians approaching the budget in a pragmatic, almost weary frame of mind. Few see the deficit as an urgent crisis, and most want the government to steer a steady course, reducing the deficit gradually, without drastic cuts or new taxes that...
Seven years after cannabis was legalized in Canada, a new survey from Abacus Data conducted for Organigram Global reveals that cannabis has firmly taken root in Canadian society. Cannabis use is widespread across age groups, and the sector is broadly seen as a valuable contributor to the national economy. Most Canadians support the idea of modernizing regulations to help the...
If you want to understand Canada in 2025, don’t look up, look down. Before focusing on ideals like purpose, self-expression or “living your best life,” most Canadians are doing something much more basic: trying to make ends meet and keep their families steady. For the past year at Abacus Data, we’ve described a national mood that moved from scarcity (”Is...
Abacus Data, in partnership with the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), conducted a national survey examining how Canadians are navigating today’s housing crisis. This second release in the series explores the state of homeownership as both a personal goal and a social marker, the growing sense of compromise Canadians feel in pursuit of it, and the kinds of housing solutions...
Mark Carney’s speech this week delivered at the University of Ottawa to a room full of students but crafted for a national audience was more than a pre-budget preview. It was a stress test of narrative: can a promise to “build, take control, and win” resonate with Canadians living through what we’ve called the precarity mindset — an era defined...
Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives remain the dominant political force in Ontario, commanding a solid lead over their rivals despite signs that a meaningful segment of their support is more circumstantial than enthusiastic. Our latest survey of 1,000 eligible voters, conducted during a relatively quiet week in Ontario politics, finds the PCs holding at 51%, the Liberals ticking up...
A new Abacus Data survey of 1,000 eligible voters in British Columbia offers a timely snapshot of provincial public opinion, suggesting that Premier David Eby and the BC NDP are relatively strong position as the parliamentary session resumes today, just over a year after the last provincial election. More residents approve than disapprove of the government’s performance and the BC...
Between October 9 and 15, 2025, Abacus Data surveyed 4,501 Canadian adults on the current state of federal politics. The findings show a landscape largely unchanged at the topline — a deadlocked race between the Liberals and Conservatives, steady impressions of Prime Minister Mark Carney, and consistent anxieties about cost of living and economic stability. But this wave also captured...
Every year, conversations about Canada’s economic future tend to circle around the same themes: innovation, technology, and global competitiveness. But in times defined by uncertainty – from economic instability and rising costs of living to political turbulence and technological disruption – many Canadians are turning to something more familiar as a source of strength: nature. Our latest research reveals a...
If you ask Canadians what keeps them up at night, the answer is no mystery. The cost of living, housing and access to health care dominate our surveys. In recent Abacus Data polling, 68 per cent say they’re worried about affording basic needs in the next six months, and seven in ten are delaying major life decisions because of financial...
The federal NDP has rarely looked weaker, and that might be its greatest opportunity. With support hovering in the high single digits, a caucus reduced to seven MPs, and little sense of purpose without party status, the party sits at an historically low ebb. But moments of weakness can also be moments of reinvention. When the political and economic ground...
Between September 26 and October 1, 2025, Abacus Data surveyed 1,504 Canadian adults on the state of federal politics. With Parliament back in session and economic anxieties simmering, this snapshot reveals a political landscape that is fiercely competitive and one where both major parties are digging in for a battle over economic credibility and leadership trust. At the topline, little...
Between September 26 and October 1, 2025, Abacus Data surveyed 1,504 Canadian adults on the state of federal politics. With Parliament back in session and economic anxieties simmering, this snapshot reveals a political landscape that is fiercely competitive and one where both major parties are digging in for a battle over economic credibility and leadership trust. At the topline, little...
Crime and public safety have quickly become key elements in Canada’s political conversation as Parliament resumes. While the country is not facing a crime wave on the scale of past decades, many Canadians feel less secure today than even a year ago. Concerns about drug use, property crime, and violent offences sit alongside frustrations with homelessness, addiction, and the cost...
At first glance, a massive federal deficit looks like a gift to Pierre Poilievre. It reinforces his central claim that Ottawa spends too much, delivers too little, and leaves Canadians worse off. Allows him to say again that Mark Carney’s government is no different than Justin Trudeau’s. But politics is rarely that simple. The other day, as I was preparing...
On September 19, I was invited by Ontario’s Minister of Energy to moderate a panel discussion with some of the country’s leading energy executives. As part of that panel, I delivered a short briefing on some new polling I did to prepare for the Energy Summit. This research was independently designed and was paid for by my company Abacus Data...
Politics is often about timing and temperament. The 2025 federal election was a reminder that when public moods shift, the politicians best able to match that mood reap the rewards. Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives lost not because their message lacked resonance, but because the emotional undercurrent of the country changed in a way that left them out of step...
In mid-September, we surveyed over 2,200 Canadians to understand how people are thinking about the federal government’s upcoming fiscal plan. What do they expect to see? Who do they think will benefit? And how do they assess the broader state of federal finances? We asked these questions not because public opinion sets the budget but because managing expectations is as...
From September 12 to 17, 2025, Abacus Data surveyed 2,230 Canadian adults on the state of federal politics. The poll was conducted just before the return of Parliament, providing a clear snapshot of voter sentiment at the end of a quiet but uneasy summer. While headline vote numbers remain stable, the issue environment is shifting, with public safety concerns rising...
In a survey I recently completed, I asked Canadians whether they knew that the Carney government had committed to cutting 15% of federal spending over the next three years. Roughly half admitted they didn’t. Think about that: one of the most consequential fiscal decisions in a generation that will likely be presented in the federal budget in October, will be...
As Mark Carney and the Liberals prepare for the fall legislative session, it’s worth remembering what Canadians expected of them when they cast their votes earlier this year. In March 2025, just at the start of the election campaign, we asked Canadians whether they believed a Carney-led government would or wouldn’t do a series of things. The answers provide a...
Good market research begins by listening for unmet needs. When people tell us what keeps them up at night whether housing, the cost of living, or a creeping sense that their jobs aren’t secure, the leaders who respond first, and credibly, are the ones who win trust. Today, the federal NDP finds itself in a deep hole: searching for relevance...
A new Abacus Data survey finds the country deeply divided on whether to eliminate Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), with support strongest among younger Canadians, residents of the Prairies, and Conservative voters. Following a recent proposal by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to phase out the program, nearly half of Canadians say they support its elimination. While 44% support the...
From August 28 to September 2, 2025, Abacus Data surveyed 1,500 Canadian adults on the state of federal politics. The poll was conducted over the Labour Day long weekend, following Pierre Poilievre’s byelection win in Calgary and just ahead of the federal cabinet’s late-summer retreat. The data capture a moment of political pause but economic unease, as fresh GDP figures...
As the Liberal cabinet meets this week and Parliament prepares to resume, new polling shows a growing divide between what Canadians want their leaders to prioritize and what they believe Ottawa is actually focused on. Between August 28 and September 2, 2025, Abacus Data conducted a national poll with 1,500 Canadians (aged 18+) to explore whether Canadians feel the federal...
Artificial intelligence is moving rapidly from labs and boardrooms into public life. Governments are announcing national strategies, businesses are investing billions, and global leaders are beginning to stake out their visions for how AI should be governed. Yet in Canada, public opinion remains divided, ambivalent, and cautious. This divergence between elite enthusiasm and public uncertainty is shaping what could become...
When Mark Carney became Prime Minister earlier this year, he introduced a new way of governing – one that sought to bring strategic discipline to a sprawling federal government. Instead of issuing dozens of separate mandate letters, Carney delivered a single, unified set of seven national priorities to guide every department and minister in his government. The signal was clear...
As Ontario heads into the fall, Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives remain firmly in control of the province’s political landscape. The latest Abacus Data survey shows the PCs strengthening their position even further, as the Premier’s personal brand continues to outperform all rivals, while the opposition parties struggle to gain traction.
From August 15 to 19, 2025, Abacus Data surveyed 1,915 Canadian adults on the state of federal politics. The poll captures public opinion just as Air Canada flight attendants initiated strike action but it’s important to note that many of the interviews were completed prior to that event, and thus this wave does not fully reflect its impact. The same...
Earlier this year, precarity emerged as the defining mindset across Canada. At a time when housing pressures were mounting, healthcare strains were deepening, and job insecurity lingered, Canadians began to question not just whether they could afford what they needed today, but whether the systems they rely on – housing, healthcare, stable work, even national security – would hold up...
The strike at Air Canada is now a test of how governments deal with unpopular decisions in real time. Our polling shows most Canadians side with the flight attendants, agree they should be paid for all aspects of their workday, and oppose Ottawa forcing them back. That reaction makes sense. People are already stretched thin by the cost of living...
The Carney government may have single-handedly ushered in a new chapter of labour uncertainty with today’s decision to impose binding arbitration in the Air Canada labour dispute. The move, prompted by a strike that halted nearly all of Air Canada’s 700 daily flights and left over 100,000 travellers stranded, sends a jarring message in a moment when confidence and security...
From 12:00 pm ET on Thursday until 10:00 am ET Friday, Abacus Data conducted a national survey of 1,500 adults commissioned by CUPE, the union representing Air Canada’s flight attendants to understand how Canadians are feeling about the potential for a strike or lockout and the core issues in dispute. The results reveal a strong current of public support for...
When we think about the future, our expectations shape more than our conversations — they influence how we plan, spend, save, vote, and adapt. In public opinion research, understanding what people believe is likely to happen matters because expectations can be as powerful as reality in driving behaviour. We plan our careers, make investments, choose where to live, and even...
From July 31 to August 7, 2025, Abacus Data surveyed 1,686 Canadian adults on the state of federal politics. The polling occurred primarily after Canada and the United States failed to reach a new trade and security agreement before the self-imposed August 1 deadline, a moment that might have sparked public reaction, but instead revealed just how steady Canadian political...
In our second deep dive into Canadian attitudes toward artificial intelligence, we turn our attention to AI’s growing role in the workplace. From July 10 to 15, 2025, Abacus Data surveyed 1,915 Canadian adults to understand how they perceive the impact of AI on their jobs and careers. As AI adoption accelerates across the country, Canadians are experiencing a mix...
New Abacus Data research reveals Canadians have clear expectations for their leaders and Mark Carney currently aligns more closely with those expectations than Pierre Poilievre. In a moment defined more by uncertainty than upheaval, Canadians are not just evaluating what their leaders promise to do, they’re watching closely for how they lead. What kind of leadership do Canadians want right...
A few months removed from a commanding re-election, Premier Doug Ford and the Ontario PCs continue to find themselves continuing to hold high levels of public support and a big lead over a divided opposition. With no major controversies consuming Queen’s Park, a relatively quiet opposition, and a public square still focused more on the potential impact of Trump’s policies...
Politics, like any market, is driven by supply and demand. Political parties supply ideas, policies, leadership. Voters create demand based on their needs, hopes, or fears. When the two align, the system works. When they don’t, it creates space for something new: a movement, a backlash, a realignment. I believe Artificial intelligence could be the next mismatch and create the...
From July 10 to 15, 2025, Abacus Data surveyed 1,915 Canadian adults about the state of federal politics, capturing opinion just days after the federal government adjusted its approach to the Digital Services Tax (DST) in response to the Trump administration. As Ottawa continues its high-stakes renegotiation of the Canada-U.S. trade relationship, aiming for a deal before August 1, Canadian...
Between June 26 and July 2, 2025 (before the Texas floods), Abacus Data surveyed 1,500 Canadian adults to better understand perceptions of climate change. This article looks at how recent extreme weather is raising public concern, even as most Canadians remain focused on everyday issues like affordability and the economy. We explore the public’s call for balance between climate action...
Our national survey reveals an increase in Canadians’ positive impressions of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), alongside growing trust in their ability to defend the country. There is also strong public support for the government’s commitment to increased defence spending. While Canadians prioritize domestic roles for the CAF, such as defending national territory and responding to natural disasters, they also...
From June 26 to July 2, 2025, Abacus Data conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,500 Canadian adults. Fielded after the House of Commons rose for the summer and the passage of Bill C-5, this latest wave captures public opinion at a moment of political calm and relative confidence. What emerges is a Canadian electorate growing more optimistic, generally supportive...
When Mark Carney became Prime Minister earlier this year, he introduced a new way of governing – one that sought to bring strategic discipline to a sprawling federal government. Instead of issuing dozens of separate mandate letters, Carney delivered a single, unified set of seven national priorities to guide every department and minister in his government. The signal was clear...
From June 17 to 19, Abacus Data conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,500 Canadian adults. Note, this survey was almost entirely done after the G7 Summit in Alberta but before the House of Commons passed Bill C-5. As summer begins, our latest political tracking survey offers a snapshot of a Canadian electorate that appears cautiously steady. The public remains...
One of the defining features of Canada’s new political era is the Carney government’s explicit attempt to connect economic growth with improvements to people’s everyday lives. In nearly every speech since becoming Prime Minister, Mark Carney has emphasized productivity, business investment, and competitiveness, not just as ends in themselves but as levers to improve affordability, living standards, and fairness...
We’ve entered a new political era in Canada, and one of its defining features has been the Carney government’s ambitious attempts to link economic growth to Canadians’ daily lives. In nearly every speech he’s made since becoming prime minister, Mark Carney has emphasized productivity, competitiveness and business investment — not as abstract goals, but as tools we can use to...
Elections are messy, emotional, and complex, and the 2025 Canadian federal election was no exception. In the weeks since the results came in, I’ve consumed a lot of commentary, analysis, and hot takes from journalists, pundits, campaign operatives, and academics. Some of it matches what I saw in the data. But a lot of it doesn’t.
Our latest poll tracking opinions about Canadian politics was conducted from June 2 to 5, 2025 and interviewed 2,585 Canadian adults. The survey finds that optimism in the direction of the country has reached a three-year high while positive impressions of Prime Minister Carney and his government continue to rise.
Over the past few months, a growing conversation has emerged in Alberta around the possibility of holding a referendum on whether the province should separate from Canada and become an independent country. The idea of Alberta sovereignty is not new—but recent political rhetoric and policy disputes have brought it back to the surface. To better understand where things stand, Abacus...
Our latest poll tracking opinions about Canadian politics was conducted from May 15 to 21, 2025 and interviewed 2,273 Canadian adults. The survey was conducted entirely after the swearing in of the Liberal government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney. Just before King Charles is set to deliver the new government’s Speech from the Throne, a new Abacus Data poll...