RELATED: Build your own Canadian Coat of Arms
Canada is celebrating its 150th birthday this year and according to the most recent census figures, we have also hit another milestone, with seniors now out numbering teens across the country for the first time in our history.
Yes Canada, we are getting older and like everyone who ages we have begun to take stock of our lives. Have we accomplished what we wanted to do? What are our plans for our golden years? The Ipsos Global Trends Study gives us some insight into our collective assessment.
READ MORE: Canada is 6th happiest country in the world, global study finds
At a time when we could be thinking about winding down, we have become more materialistic, more focused on our careers and more likely to say we feel pressure to make more money.
- Only 20 per cent of Canadians believe that their prospects of holding on to a secure job is better than their parents.
- 25 per cent (up from 20 in 2014) say that they measure their success by the things they own
- 39 per cent (up from 30 in 2014) say that fulfillment in life is achieving a prominent position in your career
- 57 per cent up (from 49 in 2014) say that they feel a lot of pressure to be successful and make money
Setting our own lives aside, everyone with or without children hopes that the next generation will have it better than their parents. It’s a constant measure of progress that keeps us focused on the future, investing in tomorrow and generally working together for the greater common good. On this front things look downright gloomy.
- ‘Shock and disbelief’ after Manitoba school trustee’s Indigenous comments
- Canadian man dies during Texas Ironman event. His widow wants answers as to why
- Several baby products have been recalled by Health Canada. Here’s the list
- ‘Sciatica was gone’: hospital performs robot-assisted spinal surgery in Canadian first
READ MORE: Toronto most youthful city in the world, global index says
When we think about our environmental legacy, most agree that, despite all of the talk and attention, the future isn’t bright.
- 73 per cent (up from 67 in 2014) say that we are heading for environmental disaster unless we change our habits quickly
And things do not look better, when we think about what kind of economy and society we are leaving to our children. Owning a home today is a challenge and we don’t think we will be able to retire with the same economic security as our parents. When we look at the next generation we recognize that they will have better access to information and most likely a better education but it doesn’t appear that we believe that this knowledge will improve their lot in life. Indeed, most of us feel the prospects for our children are even worse than our own and that their life will be economically more difficult and less safe.
- Only 25 per cent of Canadians say that they will have it better than their parents when it comes to being able to live comfortably when they retire
- Only 18 per cent of Canadians say that today’s youth will be in a better position than their parents when it comes to being able to own their own home
Only 16 per cent of Canadians say that today’s youth will be in a better position than their parents when it comes to being safe from crime or harm.
This Ipsos poll was conducted between September 12 to October 11, 2016. For this survey, a sample of 1,001 Canadians aged 18-64 from Ipsos’ online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ – 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults aged 18-64 been polled.
Read more Canada 150 content.
Comments