ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Politics

    • How do Canadians feel about federal government spending? A new survey digs into it

    Share

    Most Canadians say they feel the federal government is overspending, according to a new survey, but increased funding in some policy areas remains popular.

    Conducted last month by the Angus Reid Institute (ARI) among a random sample of 1,602 Canadian adults, the survey asked for perspectives on the Canadian government's spending and deficit ahead of the 2024 federal budget.

    "As Canadians eye growing federal government spending with some concern … there are some areas where many would like to see cuts," reads an ARI release on the survey.

    "That said, there are myriad other areas where Canadians say the federal government is not spending enough."

    Fifty-nine per cent of respondents said they felt the government was spending too much, with only 18 per cent saying that spending was within an acceptable range and eight per cent reporting that the federal Liberals were underspending.

    Perspectives differed by political affiliation.

    Those who reported they would to vote for the Conservatives or Bloc Quebecois if an election were held that day were more likely to feel the government overspends, at 87 and 76 per cent, respectively. Only 30 per cent of would-be Liberal voters, meanwhile, found spending to be excessive, and those who intended to vote NDP were the most likely to describe government spending as insufficient, at 16 per cent.

     

    Alongside impressions of overspending on the federal level were concerns about budget deficits. Sixty-six per cent of all respondents said they were concerned or very concerned about the federal deficit, with 29 per cent reporting little or no concern.

    Concerns were most prevalent among Conservative Party of Canada supporters, at 89 per cent, with 68 per cent saying they were very concerned about the deficit. A majority of Bloc supporters felt similarly, at 67 per cent concerned or very concerned. Among those who would vote Liberal or NDP in a hypothetical election that day, concerns were less common, though still widespread at 46 and 47 per cent, respectively.

     

    More here, less there

    While Canadians, by and large, fear overspending on the whole, perspectives grow more complicated when broken down by policy area, with some key issues demanding increased spending among most respondents.

    Across those surveyed, the largest proportions identified overspending in foreign aid, at 59 per cent, programs related to Indigenous reconciliation at 39 per cent, and environmental initiatives and government services, each with 32 per cent.

    Meanwhile, other policy files enjoy notable support for increased funding, such as health care (67 per cent), Canada's military and national defence (48 per cent), infrastructure (46 per cent) and social programs (41 per cent).

     

    "Canada’s international assistance spending has increased in recent year[s], in part due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and COVID-19 response measures," the ARI release reads.

    "Among all party supporters[,] cutting foreign aid spending and increasing health care funding are popular."

    Respondents were also asked about the path forward on existing policy commitments around pharmacare, dental care and defence-spending targets.

    Were they to be made finance minister, 70 per cent of respondents said they would follow through on a and 69 per cent said the same for , two key planks of the confidence-and-supply agreement maintained by the Liberals and NDP.

    Another 58 per cent agreed they would follow through on increasing Canada's spending on defence to equal two per cent of the national GDP – a commitment requested by NATO that has not been satisfied since 1991, ARI notes.

    Defunding Peter to pay Paul

    There was division in the sample on . For pharmacare, dental care and defence targets, fewer than one in four respondents said they should be funded through new taxes, while 48, 50 and 39 per cent, respectively, suggested that funding should be reallocated from other line items in the federal budget.

     

    "While affirming these programs is popular, using new taxation to furnish them is not." the ARI release said. "Canadians are much more likely to say that these programs should be funded with cuts to other areas."

    The government has announced that this year's federal budget will be tabled in Parliament on April 16.

    Methodology

    The data featured in this article is drawn from a survey conducted by the from March 20 to 22, 2024, within a random, representative sample of 1,602 Canadian adults. The institute notes that for comparison purposes only, a sample of that size carries a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Totals may not add up to 100, due to rounding.

    IN DEPTH

    Opinion

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

    A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

    opinion

    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

    When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

    CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

    The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

    B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

    Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.

    Canada

    • B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

    • Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

    • Friends and strangers have set up a makeshift memorial outside the home of a five-year-old boy who was found dead yesterday in Coteau-du-lac.

    • The lawyer for a B.C. RCMP officer convicted of obstruction for telling a witness to delete cellphone video following the violent 2017 arrest of Dale Culver has requested a stay of proceedings.

    • The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    • Lawyers representing the producers of 'Russians at War' say they may pursue legal action against Ontario's public broadcaster for pulling support for the controversial documentary amid outcry from the Ukrainian community and some Canadian politicians.

    • Viewers of Jeopardy got a chance to test their knowledge of trivia about B.C.'s biggest city Wednesday night.

    Business

    Lifestyle

    • Only one Toronto restaurant earned a Michelin star this year, but it is not a first for the chef who brought the establishment to stardom.

    • They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    Sports

    • Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he's been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season's playoffs.

    • Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette returned to the 10-day injured list Thursday due to a right middle finger fracture.

    Autos

    • Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.

    • The plant was expected to produce batteries for a million electric vehicles a year. Once up and running, it was supposed to create hundreds of permanent jobs in a small southeastern Ontario municipality. But two years later, spending on the construction of the Umicore plant has been delayed in what the company calls a "significant worsening of the EV market context."

    • A Winnipeg man is asking for help after a classic car that has been a part of his family since the 1950s was stolen from his garage.

    Local Spotlight

    They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

    The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

    It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

    A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

    David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

    Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

    A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.

    • B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

    • Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

    • The 'Namgis First Nation says a fish farm it owns near Port McNeill shows the potential of land-based aquaculture in B.C.

    • Toronto police are asking for the public's help in identifying one of the suspected shooters in Tuesday's fatal double shooting in North York.

    • A pedestrian has been seriously injured after being struck by a vehicle in North York.

    • Students across York Region will once again see uniformed officers at school, however police and board officials say they will only be stopping by for the occasional safety presentation.

    • We've produced a special webcast edition of CTV News Calgary for Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024.

    • The Parole Board of Canada says a man who assaulted a young pregnant woman and left her for dead remains too dangerous to be released into the community.

    • A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.

    • Police say a man who was taken to hospital in critical condition after being shot Thursday night has died.

    • A byelection was called for the Bay of Quinte riding less than a week after Progressive Conservative MPP Todd Smith, Ontario's education minister at the time, resigned his seat in August.

    • Customers are in the dark about the sudden closure of the Upper Room Furniture stores. The company has filed papers under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. It’s not known whether orders placed and paid for will be honoured.

    • Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.

    • A harrowing video has been presented to a jury at the trial of three men facing first-degree murder charges.

    • The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    • Five bison are dead at Elk Island National Park east of Edmonton following an early Thursday morning collision.

    • An Edmonton man who is charged with sexually assaulting a teen boy is a member of the Alberta sheriffs, CTV News Edmonton has confirmed.

    • The mayor of Fort Saskatchewan apologized on Thursday for comments she made earlier this week about killing feral cats.

    • New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has called for a provincial election. Voters will go to the polls on Oct. 21, as prescribed by the province's fixed-date election law.

    • Police are asking people to avoid the Dartmouth Commons area in Dartmouth, N.S., as they assist with a wildlife call for a bear.

    • An 83-year-old man is facing sexual interference charges following a Nova Scotia RCMP investigation.

    • Manitobans are continuing to mop up after a deluge of rain hit southern Manitoba earlier in the week.

    • Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

    • A Winnipeg pet rescue is putting out a warning to dog owners across the city about a possible parvovirus in the province.

    • A social media post of purple apples “growing†in Saskatchewan has sparked a lot of attention. However, garden experts say there's no such thing.

    • A case involving stolen funds from a Saskatchewan business being used to purchase cryptocurrency will be heading back to the courts, thanks to a new decision by Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal.

    • Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has confirmed a tornado touched down Wednesday evening near Langbank, Sask.

    • Amber and Adam Brueckner have a pool-shaped hole in their backyard – and their wallets.

    • New details have been shared about a missing family that was last seen on Sept. 1 in Kitchener, Ont.

    • Police are trying to identify a man who approached a woman and child in Wellesley.

    • A gym teacher at a private Christian school in Saskatoon has been charged. Terra MacEwan, 44, is charged with assault with a weapon. A Saskatoon mother who spoke with CTV News says her autistic son was MacEwan's victim.

    • Thomas Hamp says he believed secret police were out to kidnap, torture, and kill him when he fatally stabbed his girlfriend Emily Sanche in February of 2022.

    • A social media post of purple apples “growing†in Saskatchewan has sparked a lot of attention. However, garden experts say there's no such thing.

    • They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    • As northern Ontario gets ready to welcome autumn this weekend, it’s still feeling a lot like summer as provincial forest fire crews continue to battle blazes.

    • James Bay Ontario Provincial Police have charged four commercial vehicle drivers with impaired, including one who was hauling 36,000 kilograms of ammonia hydrate.

    • A Woodstock homeowner says she’s at her wit’s end over a homeless encampment situated alongside her backyard. She’s calling on the city to do more to help those living rough, so she can live in peace.

    • Police were focusing their attention on the northeast corner of Richmond and Horton, with members of the emergency response unit taking up positions at the scene.

    • A union representative says someone driving a pick-up truck with heavily tinted windows rammed a member on Western Road, near Elborn College.

    • Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.

    • A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

    • A 32-year-old man is facing charges after police say his vehicle struck a child in an Owen Sound intersection.

    • The Windsor Police Service (WPS) has seized over $56,000 in drugs and have arrested one suspect.

    • SERVEONE Canada, a global procurement solution company, has begun Canadian operations in Tecumseh.

    • Enrolment may be down at St. Clair College, but President Mike Silvaggi isn’t bothered.

    • In a rare move, the Greater Victoria School District Board of Education has been slapped with a ministerial order from the province requiring it to update a student safety plan – drawing concern around political posturing leading up to an election.

    • The Union of B.C. Municipalities is asking the provincial government to make transit free for teenagers.

    • To appreciate why Mimi Vandermolen is so pleased to notice one particular vehicle she’s walking past, you need to know that seeing this many cars in one place would have been unimaginable when she was growing-up in the post-war Netherlands.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.

    • A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.

    • Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.

    • A new community health profile in the Algoma District shows the area is significantly below provincial averages in a number of health metrics.

    • North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.

    • Three northern Ontario residents are charged with drug trafficking after the vehicle they were in got stuck along a bush road off Highway 17 on Monday.

    N.L.

    Stay Connected
    Follow CTV News