Many Canadians feel hopeful about 2026 but sour on actual solutions: poll

The Ipsos poll for Global News found Canadians are generally positive about their personal health and happiness after the past year, but less so about their financial situation.

Canadians are feeling generally hopeful heading into 2026, but are pessimistic about the specifics of whether pressing issues at home and abroad will be resolved, a new poll suggests.

The new Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News also found Canadians feel generally positive about their personal health and happiness after the past year, but less so about their financial situation and their social and romantic lives compared to 2022.

Less than half of those surveyed said they felt 2025 was a better year than they expected, while even fewer — 42 per cent — said they were able to save enough money over the previous 12 months.

Seven out of 10 Canadians said they are fearing a future recession, though that number is four points lower than what it was three years prior. And while 41 per cent said 2025 made them more fearful about their job security, that’s 11 points higher than 2022.

Despite that pessimism, 62 per cent they were feeling generally optimistic about 2026.

“I think Canadians are hoping that (next year) will be better because quite frankly, it can’t get much worse,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs.

“Things have been pretty bad — not just through the space of the last year or so, but going all the way back to the beginning of COVID. And I think people are thinking that at some point, things are going to bounce back. So their optimism may be more hope than any true expectation that things are going to get better.”

Ipsos contacted 1,502 Canadians age 18 and over between Dec. 8 and 15 for the poll.