Canadians grew more wary, discouraged in past 50 years, says veteran pollster
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Sid Shniad
Jun 17, 2026, 9:54:05 PM (6 days ago) Jun 17
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Vancouver Sun June 17, 2026
Canadians grew more wary, discouraged in past 50 years, says veteran pollster
People are placing less importance on friendliness, reliability, honesty, having babies and "being a Canadian," finds Reginald Bibby.
By Douglas Todd
In 1975, 65 per cent of Canadians agreed ‘the political and economic system we have is
Canadians grew more wary, discouraged in past 50 years, says veteran pollster
People are placing less importance on friendliness, reliability, honesty, having babies and "being a Canadian," finds Reginald Bibby.
By Douglas Todd
In 1975, 65 per cent of Canadians agreed ‘the political and economic system we have is
about the best there is.’ Today that figure stands at just 33 per cent.
As one of Canada’s leading pollsters for the past 50 years, Reginald Bibby has proved relentlessly curious and fundamentally optimistic about this country and its people.
At age 83, however, the dogged researcher is seeing some disturbing trends. They relate to how Canadians feel about friendliness, happiness, loneliness, their finances, the nation, their sex lives, their spiritual inclinations, trust levels, and more.
While it’s not all gloom and doom, Bibby has uncovered, while working with the Angus Reid Institute, some distinct downsides emerging in the way people in Canada see themselves, each other and their institutions.
In his latest jam-packed book, The Canadian Transformation: Social Trends 1975 to 2025, the University of Lethbridge sociologist emeritus provides unique long-range data and reflections on what’s changed since he began to focus on the values Canadians hold.
It’s not easy to remain upbeat when one notices that most Canadians no longer believe this country is operating at its best.
“Disillusionment with our political and economic system is clearly widespread. In 1975, 65 per cent of Canadians agreed ‘the political and economic system we have is about the best there is.’ Today that figure stands at just 33 per cent.
At the economic level, an expanding proportion of people say their personal financial situations have been getting worse. In 1975, only 10 per cent felt they were on a downward path. Now the proportion with a pessimistic financial outlook has swelled to 37 per cent.
Following traditional sociological methods for determining levels of “hopelessness and despair,” Bibby has for five decades been asking Canadians if they believe: “In spite of what people say, the lot of the average person is getting worse, not better.”
In 1975, less than half shared that grim assessment. Now, unfortunately, almost four of five Canadians concur with it.
A related attitude — how Canadians feel about having babies — also raises an alarm. In 1975, only 27 per cent agreed “it’s hardly fair to bring children into the world with the way things look for the future.” Now, in this age of climate change, unaffordable housing and insecure jobs, the proportion who share such pessimism is almost half, 47 per cent.
On the same theme, Bibby has been asking Canadian about their happiness for five decades, while the country’s population has almost doubled to 41.5 million. The results are not encouraging.
The proportion of Canadians who say they’re not happy has almost tripled, to where it now encompasses three in 10 residents. About 76 per cent of senior Canadians report some happiness, compared to only 65 per cent of those under age 55.
Experts will speculate on the factors behind Canadians’ declining contentment. But Bibby found young adults are the most likely to feel lonely, at 40 per cent. And there is a surprisingly big generational gap on sex. While acceptance of same-sex relationships has become almost universal among Canadians since the 1970s, sexual activity has plunged among the young.
In 1995, about 67 per cent of those under age 34 reported being sexually active. Last year, that proportion had dropped radically, to just 38 per cent.
“Sex has lost much of the intrigue it had for earlier generations for whom it was typically forbidden,” Bibby says. “There’s no question attention and enjoyment options have never been so plentiful. Someone is probably on their phone.”
In addition to emerging sexual cautiousness, Bibby found Canadians are concerned about moral decline.
“Since the 1980s, I have asked Canadians to respond to the statement ‘values in Canada are changing for the worse,'” he says. Forty years ago half agreed. Now seven in 10 agree, a figure that holds across age groups.
Since 1985, there have been major decreases in the percentages of Canadians who place high importance on forgiveness (75 per cent in 1985, 46 per cent now), working hard (67 per cent then, 45 per cent now), reliability (88 per cent then, 73 per cent now) and even honesty (96 per cent then and 82 per cent now).
In regard to patriotism, there is also a rift between generations regarding whether “being a Canadian” is “very important.” While two thirds of those over 55 stress strong loyalty to Canada, that drops to just one in three among those under age 34.
We may be becoming a little harder too. In 1990, Bibby asked Canadians if they believed the statement “what is right or wrong is a matter of personal opinion.”
Back then half agreed. But now only three in 10, across all age cohorts, adhere to that relativistic, some might say tolerant attitude.
It’s not that Canadians now hold to moral absolutes, says Bibby. “It’s about how more people now than in the past have become adamant how their views are the right ones. We’re not more accepting of diverse opinions, but quite the opposite. Evidence lies in the need to ‘cancel’ those who do not agree with one’s positions.”
The percentage of people who believe in God has plummeted from 83 per cent in 1985 to 47 per cent now. Bibby also found fewer Canadians accept being a multicultural “mosaic” in which people are loyal to Canada but keep the customs, including religious customs, of their previous countries (44 per cent now, compared to 56 per cent in 1985).
The pollster’s conclusion after all these years? “The 50-year survey is essentially a positive one,” he says. Progress has been made and many are doing well.
“We seem to be reasonably civil toward each other.”
However, he notes, “We are far from having become a paradise. In addition to a clouded economy, he says “our diversity continues to have some serious divisions … We aren’t always considerate, compassionate or generous and we still frequently have caution and even a measure of fear in relating to one another.”
For many Canadians today, alas, some of his downbeat findings won’t come as a shock.
dt...@postmedia.com
As one of Canada’s leading pollsters for the past 50 years, Reginald Bibby has proved relentlessly curious and fundamentally optimistic about this country and its people.
At age 83, however, the dogged researcher is seeing some disturbing trends. They relate to how Canadians feel about friendliness, happiness, loneliness, their finances, the nation, their sex lives, their spiritual inclinations, trust levels, and more.
While it’s not all gloom and doom, Bibby has uncovered, while working with the Angus Reid Institute, some distinct downsides emerging in the way people in Canada see themselves, each other and their institutions.
In his latest jam-packed book, The Canadian Transformation: Social Trends 1975 to 2025, the University of Lethbridge sociologist emeritus provides unique long-range data and reflections on what’s changed since he began to focus on the values Canadians hold.
It’s not easy to remain upbeat when one notices that most Canadians no longer believe this country is operating at its best.
“Disillusionment with our political and economic system is clearly widespread. In 1975, 65 per cent of Canadians agreed ‘the political and economic system we have is about the best there is.’ Today that figure stands at just 33 per cent.
At the economic level, an expanding proportion of people say their personal financial situations have been getting worse. In 1975, only 10 per cent felt they were on a downward path. Now the proportion with a pessimistic financial outlook has swelled to 37 per cent.
Following traditional sociological methods for determining levels of “hopelessness and despair,” Bibby has for five decades been asking Canadians if they believe: “In spite of what people say, the lot of the average person is getting worse, not better.”
In 1975, less than half shared that grim assessment. Now, unfortunately, almost four of five Canadians concur with it.
A related attitude — how Canadians feel about having babies — also raises an alarm. In 1975, only 27 per cent agreed “it’s hardly fair to bring children into the world with the way things look for the future.” Now, in this age of climate change, unaffordable housing and insecure jobs, the proportion who share such pessimism is almost half, 47 per cent.
On the same theme, Bibby has been asking Canadian about their happiness for five decades, while the country’s population has almost doubled to 41.5 million. The results are not encouraging.
The proportion of Canadians who say they’re not happy has almost tripled, to where it now encompasses three in 10 residents. About 76 per cent of senior Canadians report some happiness, compared to only 65 per cent of those under age 55.
Experts will speculate on the factors behind Canadians’ declining contentment. But Bibby found young adults are the most likely to feel lonely, at 40 per cent. And there is a surprisingly big generational gap on sex. While acceptance of same-sex relationships has become almost universal among Canadians since the 1970s, sexual activity has plunged among the young.
In 1995, about 67 per cent of those under age 34 reported being sexually active. Last year, that proportion had dropped radically, to just 38 per cent.
“Sex has lost much of the intrigue it had for earlier generations for whom it was typically forbidden,” Bibby says. “There’s no question attention and enjoyment options have never been so plentiful. Someone is probably on their phone.”
In addition to emerging sexual cautiousness, Bibby found Canadians are concerned about moral decline.
“Since the 1980s, I have asked Canadians to respond to the statement ‘values in Canada are changing for the worse,'” he says. Forty years ago half agreed. Now seven in 10 agree, a figure that holds across age groups.
Since 1985, there have been major decreases in the percentages of Canadians who place high importance on forgiveness (75 per cent in 1985, 46 per cent now), working hard (67 per cent then, 45 per cent now), reliability (88 per cent then, 73 per cent now) and even honesty (96 per cent then and 82 per cent now).
In regard to patriotism, there is also a rift between generations regarding whether “being a Canadian” is “very important.” While two thirds of those over 55 stress strong loyalty to Canada, that drops to just one in three among those under age 34.
We may be becoming a little harder too. In 1990, Bibby asked Canadians if they believed the statement “what is right or wrong is a matter of personal opinion.”
Back then half agreed. But now only three in 10, across all age cohorts, adhere to that relativistic, some might say tolerant attitude.
It’s not that Canadians now hold to moral absolutes, says Bibby. “It’s about how more people now than in the past have become adamant how their views are the right ones. We’re not more accepting of diverse opinions, but quite the opposite. Evidence lies in the need to ‘cancel’ those who do not agree with one’s positions.”
The percentage of people who believe in God has plummeted from 83 per cent in 1985 to 47 per cent now. Bibby also found fewer Canadians accept being a multicultural “mosaic” in which people are loyal to Canada but keep the customs, including religious customs, of their previous countries (44 per cent now, compared to 56 per cent in 1985).
The pollster’s conclusion after all these years? “The 50-year survey is essentially a positive one,” he says. Progress has been made and many are doing well.
“We seem to be reasonably civil toward each other.”
However, he notes, “We are far from having become a paradise. In addition to a clouded economy, he says “our diversity continues to have some serious divisions … We aren’t always considerate, compassionate or generous and we still frequently have caution and even a measure of fear in relating to one another.”
For many Canadians today, alas, some of his downbeat findings won’t come as a shock.
dt...@postmedia.com
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