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<\/a><\/p>\nTwenty-eight percent picked from both columns. That is the precarity mindset at work. People want reassurance that someone sensible is at the wheel, but they are wary of costly bets that do not clearly help their household.<\/p>\n
On individual measures the government does better. <\/p>\n
A Buy Canadian rule is strongly supported. Scaling back temporary foreign workers and international students to ease pressure on housing and jobs also lands well. New funds to help Canadian firms reach global markets and targeted housing and infrastructure programs draw broad approval. Cuts to the federal public service are net positive overall, yet much less popular among younger Canadians. Defence spending is net positive too, but softer in Quebec and among the young. One decision, the repeal of the luxury tax on private planes and yachts, is a loser across multiple audiences.<\/p>\n
The bigger challenge is strategic. <\/p>\n
We tested two competing frames. One casts the budget as a generational investment that makes Canada more resilient and more self-sufficient. The other calls it fiscally reckless, deficit heavy, and unlikely to deliver real change. The split is 46 percent for the government\u2019s version and 54 percent for the opposition\u2019s. Even among those most familiar with the budget, the pattern holds. That tells me this is less about line items and more about identity and leadership.<\/p>\n
Here is the number that should focus minds in Ottawa. <\/p>\n Only sixteen percent say the budget made them more confident that the government has a clear plan to grow the economy, make life more affordable, and protect Canada from global uncertainty. Thirty-nine percent say less confident. For a document billed as transformative, that is a warning light. <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n