Fear blew change into our lives
Working from home affords the luxury of being able to watch the garden birds nest- building, as they try to protect their unborn young from predators.
An expansive new poll by Leger Market for the Association of Canadian Studies suggests Canadians have been gripped by their own nesting instinct — in this instance to protect their families from a deadly virus. This new-normal has far-reaching implications for businesses and politicians.
The poll of 1,526 Canadians, completed between May 1- 3, quantifies the fear that COVID-19 has created — 55 per cent say they are personally afraid; 67 per cent are scared a family member will catch it.
That fear is ingrained and unlikely to ease its way out, even after restrictions are lifted.
The pollster asked what activities respondents might feel comfortable doing — the response suggests home renovators might enjoy brisk business ( 60 per cent); that malls might recover ( 50 per cent); certain restaurants could stand a chance (41 per cent); but that airlines (23 per cent), gyms (21 per cent), concert venues (20 per cent) and bars/nightclubs (17 per cent) will not bounce back.
People feel safe at home — only one in four want to return to their usual work routine, while 70 per cent would like to work from home more.
Travel plans have been decimated — 50 per cent have cancelled or changed their plans, with only seven per cent still intending to go on vacation this year.
Those that may travel say they would be more comfortable driving to a Canadian destination. More than half say they will not be comfortable travelling to the U. S. until there is a vaccine. Only one in five wants to travel abroad, and just one in 10 is comfortable with the idea of going on a cruise ship.
Some of the impact on behaviour is inevitably driven by straitened finances.
Nearly half of respondents say their investments have been hit and four in 10 say they have seen a decrease in income. One in five say they have lost their job, permanently or temporarily, and have applied for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.
As normal life was frozen in time, like Pompeii under molten ash, governments at all levels were obliged to keep society ticking over.
The Leger poll indicates they have done a pretty good job and most respondents have retained their faith in their political leaders.
A majority ( 56 per cent) say they trust Justin Trudeau.
More than three quarters say they are very or somewhat satisfied with the performance of the federal government.
Provincial governments score even better when it comes to public satisfaction, with the governments of Quebec Premier François Legault, Ontario’s Doug Ford and British Columbia’s John Horgan all ranking even higher than the provincial average of 84 per cent.
Only Alberta’s Jason Kenney scored a dissatisfaction rating higher than 25 per cent.
Health professionals and public health officials, including chief medical officer Theresa Tam, are still trusted by a vast majority of Canadians, the poll suggests.
Nearly two- thirds of respondents are amenable to the pace at which restrictions are being relaxed.
The country remains in the midst of a maelstrom — nearly one third believe the worst is still to come — so it is understandable that Canadians are preoccupied with events close to home. They appear content to leave the federal Liberal Party to fulfil its reason for being — spending lots of public money in an attempt to take the fear out of everyday life.
The Leger poll suggests many Canadians are comfortable with the results. When prompted to answer which party they would vote for, if there were an election tomorrow, 44 per cent said the Liberals, just 25 per cent said the Conservative, 15 per cent said the NDP, seven per cent the Bloc and six per cent the Greens.
You can add any number of caveats to that result — everyone knows there is not going to be an election tomorrow; Trudeau has spent $ 145 billion in emergency relief; Parliament sits in person just once a week, while the prime minister tosses out his daily Gaines- Burger to the media from his front doorstep and so on.
But the strength of that support — five points higher than when Trudeau won office in 2015 — hints at an electorate that may be anxious but also has faith the government knows what it is doing.
It suggests that it is a long way back for the Conservatives — according to Leger they only recorded half as much support as the Liberals in Ontario. The party is in the midst of an increasingly dispiriting leadership fight, where the two front-runners — Peter Mackay and Erin O’toole — are jousting for social conservative support, further alienating the average voter by saying things neither truly believes.
Andrew Scheer, the current leader, looks like a condemned man who can’t wait for the axe to fall and put him out of his misery.
He is a decent man and he should be home with his growing family, nest- building. His successor faces the prospect of pushing heavy stones uphill for quite some time.