Populations around the world are currently in a state of anger about many aspects of their lives. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock Images.
In the wake of the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump and very disruptive recent elections in the UK and France, it seems appropriate to discuss the growing amount of rage in our societies, its causes and possible solutions. Fortunately, the polling organization Pollara decided a couple of years ago to conduct a monthly tracking of how mad Canadians were and what they were most angry about. Pollara appropriately calls this the Rage Index, and has been monitoring it since August 2022.
The most recent survey results published in May of this year show Canadians to be hopping mad. In fact, they were more enraged than was indicated in the almost two years that the survey has been conducted. The six areas the survey covered were Canadians’ views about the federal government, the respondent’s provincial government, the Canadian economy, one’s personal financial situation, the types of changes happening in Canada and the latest stories in the news.
In the May 2024 data, 67 per cent of Canadians were angry about the economy, a record high. Anger towards both federal and provincial governments were also at record levels of 60 per cent and 56 per cent respectively. As this survey was taken shortly after the federal budget was announced, it was interesting to note that the budget did nothing to reduce Canadians’ anger toward the federal Liberals since significantly more Canadians – 40 per cent – had negative feelings about the budget than the 18 per cent who felt positively.
The Liberals definitely miscalculated, as they had believed their budget would be a real crowd pleaser, especially because of the capital gains tax hike they thought would encourage most Canadians to gang up on the so-called rich who, according to the Liberals, would be the only ones punished by this tax increase. Although the Liberals targeted their budget toward lower age groups, those were the groups that had the least awareness of what the budget contained.
On a regional basis, Canadians were most angry in BC and Ontario. Anger levels in BC jumped the most from previous surveys, as dissatisfaction with the NDP government of Premier Eby grew significantly, jumping from 38 to 54 per cent. Anger among Ontarians also increased substantially by 7 per cent. While anger levels were not too far apart across the provinces, Quebec was the lowest at 50 per cent.
As for the different age groups, the most enraged were those in Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980. This age group was most unhappy with the federal government, the economy in general and the types of changes happening in Canada. That being said, there were not huge differences between the various age groups. Even though boomers are often represented by the Trudeau government as being financially comfortable as they benefit from such things as real estate appreciation that, according to the Liberals, they “didn’t earn,” boomers in this survey are actually angrier than some of the younger age groups about what is going on in Canada.
Populations around the world are currently in a state of anger about many aspects of their lives. The rapid and disruptive pace of technology along with the advent of artificial intelligence and the major changes it will bring are troubling to many. Geopolitical disturbances such as the increasing aggression from unfriendly regimes such as those in Russia and China, active war in the Middle East, Ukraine and parts of the developing world, and extreme immigration policies that have caused culture clashes in many developed countries, among other factors, have shaken the foundations of Western societies while social media has magnified everyone’s points of view.
The “woke” policies that have forced their way into so many of our governments, businesses, education systems, media and other institutions we used to trust has undermined that trust to the point that average people are angry and starting to push back. The corruption in some of our governments and the massive waste of tax dollars at a time when many Canadians are suffering financially has also justifiably enraged Canadians. Although it’s not a happy situation that we see anger levels at record highs, it may be what’s needed to bring about the change required.
Politicians would be wise to pay attention to the Rage Index and its various components, as political fortunes are directly affected by voters’ level of anger. The next year or so will see a number of Canadian elections, with provincial elections scheduled to take place in British Columbia, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan in October.
It is rumoured that Ontario could well have an election next spring, earlier than the Ford government is required to call it. And it’s anyone’s guess when we could have a federal election, but it won’t be far away. The US election on November 6 will undoubtedly have a big impact on Canada as well. According to the Rage Index, the amount of anger building up among we normally placid Canadians suggests we are in for a period of considerable change. Which is exactly what we need.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
