Most Canadians want Trudeau government to spend less, poll says

A majority of Canadians want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reduce government spending, which many see as one of the primary drivers of inflation in recent years, a new survey finds.

Overall, about 63% of Canadians would prefer to see lower spending in Trudeau’s budget, according to the poll by Nanos Research Group conducted for Bloomberg. Some 38% of respondents want the money that would be saved to go toward repaying government debt, while 25% want tax cuts.

The survey underscores the difficulty Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland face in crafting a new federal budget, to be released on April 16. Higher spending is unpopular, but poll after poll also shows Canadians are frustrated about high housing costs. Trudeau’s government appears likely to introduce new measures to try to improve the housing situation — and at the same time, it’s under pressure to boost outlays on defense and industrial subsidies.

“Canadians by a large margin prefer spending reductions over increased spending,” said Nik Nanos, the polling firm’s chief data scientist. “As Canadians exercise their own economic restraint as they struggle to pay for housing and groceries, they likely expect the federal government to also exercise fiscal restraint.”