A new poll suggests the Liberals have failed to win over voters with their latest budget, although there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
Just under half of respondents to the latest Léger survey said they had a negative opinion of the federal budget presented last Tuesday.
Only 21 percent said they had a positive opinion and a third of respondents said they did not know or preferred not to answer.
Still, 65 percent of respondents said the plan to spend $8.5 billion on housing, aimed at building 3.9 million homes by 2031, is good for the country.
Leger’s survey of 1,522 Canadians last weekend cannot be assigned a margin of error because online surveys are not considered truly random samples.
Albertans were the most likely to say they had a very negative impression of the budget, with 42 per cent selecting that option compared to 25 per cent nationwide.
More than half of respondents said they favor the government’s plans to spend more on energy efficiency, national defense and student loan forgiveness for health care and education workers.
And 56 percent said they thought raising the capital gains tax inclusion rate — a measure estimated to raise another $19.4 billion in revenue over the next four years — is a good thing.
Liberals see the change as critical to their plan to improve generational equity by taxing the ultra-wealthy.
The poll suggests half of Canadians have a negative opinion of the latest Liberal budget. #CDNPoli #Budget2024
It has drawn criticism, including from the Canadian Medical Association, which warned Tuesday that it could impact the country’s ability to recruit and retain doctors.
The budget proposes to tax two-thirds of capital gains (profits made from the sale of assets), instead of half. For individuals, this would apply to earnings over $250,000, but there is no lower threshold for corporations.
The medical association said many doctors will face higher taxes because they have incorporated their practices and used those businesses to save for retirement.
While the Liberals point to changes to the capital gains tax for younger Canadians, including millennials and Gen Z, the Leger poll found it had the support of 60 per cent of respondents aged 55 and older , the highest among any age group.
People aged 18 to 35 were the least likely to support the Liberal plan to spend another $73 billion on defense over the next two decades. Only 45 percent of respondents in that age group said increasing defense spending is good for the country, compared to 70 percent of people over 55.
Leger also raised questions about the country’s fiscal future.
Nearly half of respondents, 47 percent, said they want the government to reduce spending and programs to balance the budget as quickly as possible.
Only 16 percent said spending more and running large deficits is the best plan for the next five years, and 14 percent want the government to raise taxes to reduce the deficit.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2024.
The Canadian Medical Association funds a scholarship that supports journalism positions at The Canadian Press.