This year has been marked by economic upheaval, global conflict and climate change-induced natural disasters, and only a third of Canadians are optimistic things will get better in 2026, a new Leger poll suggests.
Asked about their expectations for the new year, 35 per cent of respondents said they were optimistic that 2026 will be better than 2025.
Thirty-seven per cent of people said they think it will be about the same, while 22 per cent said they think it will be worse than 2025.
The poll, which was conducted online and can't be assigned a margin of error, surveyed 1,523 people between Dec. 19 and Dec. 21.
Andrew Enns, Leger's executive vice-president for Central Canada, told The Canadian Press that the results aren't overly surprising, given "the kind of year we've had."
The poll does suggest that Canadians believe their mental health has improved since the pandemic years.
In 2025, 86 per cent of people reported good mental health, while 11 per cent reported poor mental health. Of that 86 per cent, 31 per cent said their mental health was "very good," while 17 per cent said it was "excellent."
By comparison, in December 2020, 79 per cent reported good mental health and 19 per cent reported poor mental health.
Respondents in Quebec were the most likely to say they have good mental health, at 91 per cent. That's compared to 88 per cent of Albertans, 86 per cent of people in B.C. and 84 per cent of Ontarians.
Older Canadians aged 55 and more were much more likely to rate their mental health as "good," at 93 per cent, compared to 83 per cent of people aged 35 to 54 and 80 per cent of people between the ages of 18 and 34.
Enns noted that the survey suggests younger Canadians are more optimistic about the year ahead, while older Canadians indicated they had better mental health.
Thirty-nine per cent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 said they thought 2026 will be better than 2025, while 36 per cent of people aged 35 to 54 and 31 per cent of people aged 55 and older said that.
When asked to pick words from a list that best describe 2025 for Canada, 40 per cent of people chose "uncertain," while 37 per cent said "turbulent" and 31 per cent said "exhausting."
"I'm not surprised," Enns said. "We had some craziness with the Americans, we had a really hard-fought federal election, we're still dealing with affordability and things like that and there's still international troubles that seem to dominate the headlines."
Respondents said their year was shaped by a variety of factors, including politics at 72 per cent, family and personal responsibilities at 69 per cent and health and well-being challenges at 67 per cent.
Respondents were also asked whether they agreed with several statements around identity, community and national sentiment.
More than four out of five respondents said they agree with the statement that "Canada feels culturally different than it did a few years ago."
Seventy-one per cent said they agree with the statement that "the actions of other Canadians gave me moments of discouragement," while 68 per cent said they agreed with the statement that "the actions of other Canadians gave me moments of pride."
The polling industry’s professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.
Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/Adam Gray
