Community Poll – November 23, 2023
Gathering opinions on the government’s fall economic update
In mid November the federal government released its fall economic update with a focus on tackling the affordability crisis that many Canadians are worried about right now.
What does it mean for engaged women? A few key takeaways:
- The federal government introduced new strategies to the Competition Act to try and bring down the high cost of groceries. That said there’s no new spending to offset the pinch people are feeling at the grocery store checkout.
- The government is aiming to make housing more affordable by cracking down on short-term rentals, incentivizing more home building, and it introduced a new Canadian Mortgage Charter to provide financial relief to those in need.
- And to try and encourage investment in our economy, the government will be offering tax credits for carbon capture and storage (CCS) — something we know engaged women care about based on our new national survey.
The big question though is: Will measures like these be enough to address affordability concerns, while also driving economic growth (and hopefully reducing inflation at the same time)?
We polled our community for their thoughts, and here’s what we heard:
Question 1
With high interest rates, many Canadians (both new home buyers and those renewing their mortgages) are concerned about housing affordability. The federal government’s fall economic statement includes billions of dollars in new spending targeted at Canada’s housing supply with the goal of making housing more affordable, and to accelerate home building. Do you agree with this spending focus?
13%
Yes, I agree with the federal government’s spending in this area
56.5%
Sort of — I agree with spending on housing, but the country’s deficit is projected to be quite large so I
think more financial restraint is needed
30.4%
I do not support the federal government’s newly announced spending on housing
Question 2
The federal economic update included promises to finance investment tax credits for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and for net-zero energy technologies in order to attract green investment. The government says it wants the country to be a key supplier of green technology, and investment tax credits are being considered to position Canada more competitively against the United States. What do you think about this investment priority?
13%
I support a tax credit system to help make Canada a leader in green technology
65.2%
I think we need to invest in green technology, but the oil and gas industry should also be supported — emissions reduction and prosperity should be a goal across the board
21.7%
I do not support a tax credit system to help make Canada a leader in green technology
Question 3
The federal government has said bringing down the cost of food is a priority. The fall economic update includes some proposed measures to indirectly help bring down prices, but it doesn’t lay out any new spending. Do you think this should be a bigger priority for the government?
68.2%
Yes, I think there needs to be more action to bring down food prices
31.8%
No, I think the measures announced this week will suffice