Half of Canadians 18 to 24 favour socialism as their preferred economic system, but the majority of them do not provide the correct definition for it, according to a poll done by the Fraser Institute. .“A whole segment of the population — not just in Canada but across the developed world — self-describes as socialist, but many of them have never lived in a world with genuine socialism nor the misery it imposed,” said Fraser Institute executive vice-president and study co-author Jason Clemens in a Wednesday press release. .The poll was done in conjunction with think tanks in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. It used polling data from Leger and was commissioned in 2022. .The poll said 42% of Canadians support socialism as their preferred economic system. It said the number drops to 38% among those older than 55. .Unlike other similar polls, this one explored how respondents defined socialism. The poll said one-quarter define socialism in the traditional sense — government owning and controlling businesses and industries. .It said 65% define socialism as government providing more services. There were 57% who said it is government providing a minimum guaranteed income. .The poll found similar results for the US, Australia, and UK. .When asked how the government should finance the increased spending on programs and providing a minimum guaranteed income, 31% supported an across-the-board increase in personal income taxes, while 16% wanted to raise the GST. Most Canadians preferred a wealth tax on the top 1% of income earners (72%) and increasing personal income taxes on the top 10% of income earners (59%) to finance socialism. .“These targeted tax hikes will not generate anywhere near enough revenue to pay for the higher levels of spending linked with socialism,” said Fraser Institute senior fellow and study co-author Steven Globerman. .“If Canadians want a larger government and substantially higher government spending, then all Canadians, and not just top income earners, will have to pay higher taxes to finance it.”.The poll was conducted online with 1,006 Canadians from the end of September to mid-October. No margin of error was assigned.
