A majority of Canadians believe Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s spending priorities are out of touch and that they pay too much in taxes.
This is according to a new Ipsos poll released by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) surveying the views of 1,020 Canadian adults.
“Not only do Canadians find that the Trudeau government spends too much, but they also find that it spends unwisely,” said MEI senior director of communications Renaud Brossard.
“This seems to indicate a disconnect between the Department of Finance and the people whose money is entrusted in its care.”
Three in four Canadians believed that they were spending too much in income taxes, while fewer than a quarter believed that the prime minister was using taxpayer funding on the right programs.
Quebec saw the highest percentage of people (64%) who believed that the government was overspending.
Across Canada, 55% of people cited Ottawa for overspending.
Some of the programs taxpayers took issue with was carbon taxes with 45% looking at the cost negatively while 41% saw it positively.
“The message Canadians are sending Ottawa is unequivocal,” said Brossard.
“They are asking Ottawa to cut its spending, review its priorities, and reduce their tax burden.”
Around 60% of Canadians also believed that government spending lacked transparency.
Nearly the same number believed that the federal government’s massive spending programs also contributed to Canada’s inflation.
In the government’s latest federal budget, the feds ditched its projection to balance the budget within five years with the next fiscal year, predicting a $40.1 billion deficit. In total, the Liberals have pledged a whopping $497 billion in this year’s budget.
