Ipsos poll reveals issues Canadians watch and worry about in 2025 – Nationally

The high cost of health care topped the list of Canadians’ top issues in 2025, while the deterioration of Canada-US relations dominated the biggest issues of the year for Canadians, according to a new poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Global News.

“Affordability ranked first among the issues Canadians were most concerned about this past year,” Ipsos Public Affairs CEO Darrell Bricker told Global in an interview, closely followed by health care, “not because Canadians are happy about it,” he said.

Forty-one percent of those surveyed said affordability and cost of living are the most important issues in Canada, followed by health care at 38 percent.

The economy (28 percent) and housing (27 percent) followed as the next most important issues, emphasizing what Bricker described as ongoing concerns about household finances and access to basic services.

Bricker said the findings show the pressures of affordability and housing are most felt by young Canadians.

The poll suggests a sharply divided political landscape, with the Liberals and Conservatives each seen as strong on five of the top 10 issues. The Conservatives hold a slight advantage on concerns related to affordability, while the Liberals are viewed more favorably on health care and the economy.

“Usually what you find is that the winning team is the one that is considered to be doing a great job on the most important issue,” said Bricker. “What’s interesting is that in the last election, it wasn’t like that. The issue of not being able to buy was at the top of the list and the Conservatives were leading on that, but the Liberals ended up winning.”

While affordability is high on the list, Bricker said the Liberals have benefited from a big lead in managing relations with the United States – an issue where they have always been more prominent than the Conservatives. Canada’s relationship with its neighbor to the south, he said, continues to outweigh the affordability concerns of many voters.

“They still have 39 points to see who will be able to deal with that issue better…

Following affordability and cost of living, health care and the economy in the top three areas in order, the other top issues for Canadians were: housing, immigration, Canada’s relationship with the US, interest rates and inflation, taxes, unemployment/jobs, and crime and violence.

Canada-US conflicts, international conflicts shape how Canadians see the big news of the year

Canada’s relationship with the US also loomed large in Canadians’ assessment of the year’s biggest global issues.

More than half – 56 percent – of respondents said that US President Donald Trump’s numbers are the top story around the world, followed by one-third who point to Trump’s return to the White House. The conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza ranked third and fourth, respectively.

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Bricker said Canadians say they see those issues as deeply connected.

“We’re seeing (top news) dominated by things that Donald Trump has touched,” Bricker said, adding that most of the news Canadians are watching involves actions “being done in Canada, or seen being done by Donald Trump and his administration.”

“So (Trump) is integrated into everything Canadians are watching right now.”

Ipsos also found growing pessimism about global conflicts. Canadians follow foreign wars closely, Bricker said, “but they don’t view them with any degree of optimism.”

The survey found the top remaining international issues for Canadians in 2025 were the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, developments in the Epstein files, the rise of artificial intelligence technology, the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, global pressures on migration and immigration, and Elon Musk’s DO of Elon Musk’s administration.

Regarding the domestic issues of the year, 42 percent of respondents said that the year 2025 is mainly defined by the deterioration of Canada-US relations, which led slightly to the coverage of the rising cost of living by 41 percent. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s election ranked third with 33 percent.

Other major domestic news were the Canada Post strike, Justin Trudeau’s resignation as Prime Minister, the Toronto Blue Jays reaching the World Series, the homelessness crisis, immigration policy changes, the Air Canada strike, and finally the bankruptcy and permanent closure of Hudson’s Bay.

Both surveys were conducted online between Dec. 8 and 15 among 1,502 Canadians aged 18 and over. The results were calibrated to reflect the country’s population and were considered accurate within a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 points, 19 out of 20 times.