Inflation, taxes top of mind for Canadians ahead of budget 2023: poll
Global News
The 2023 federal budget will be released on Tuesday. Here are the main priorities for Canadians, according to a new Ipsos poll.
With the federal government set to release its budget for 2023 this week, inflation and taxes are top of mind for many Canadians, new polling shows.
Roughly two out of five Canadians, or 43 per cent, want the upcoming budget from the Liberal government to ease the pain of surging prices, according to an Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News that was released Monday.
Even though the annual rate of inflation has cooled in recent months, grocery prices continue to bite Canadians.
Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s finance minister and deputy prime minister, has pledged that the 2023 budget will include “targeted” support to help vulnerable Canadians but will not “pour fuel on the fire of inflation.”
Women were more likely (52 per cent) than men (34 per cent) to prioritize help with inflation relief as their main budget topic, the Ipsos poll showed.
The high costs are also of particular concern for younger Canadians, with nearly half of those aged 35-54 years listing it as their top priority.
Taxes are another pressing issue for Canadians, with 37 per cent saying they want the government to lower them, and 22 per cent demanding higher taxes on the wealthy.
There have been growing calls in Canada and around the world to tax the “ultra rich” as wealth inequality is increasing.