Almost all Canadians believe its trade infrastructure is important, but more than a third feel the infrastructure is falling short, according to a newly-released poll..A new Ipsos survey for the Canadian Construction Association, finds almost all Canadians (95%) view trade infrastructure such as highways, ports, railroads and airports as important to Canada’s economy. Even so, many say Canada’s trade infrastructure is in poor (30%) or bad (8%) shape..While Canadians highly value international trade, most still underestimate its economic contribution..When asked to guess what proportion of Canada’s total economic activity (GDP) depends on international trade, on average, Canadians guessed 50.5%, underestimating the true figure (65.4%)..When told the true figure, the proportion who consider international trade “very important” increased from 52% to 62%..Over nine in ten (93%) Canadians strongly (55%) or somewhat (38%) agree that given how important trade is to Canada, we need to prioritize moving people to jobs and products to market more effectively. This sentiment resonates most strongly in Alberta (97%) and Ontario (95%). .Nearly all Canadians believe strongly (54%) or somewhat (40%) that Canadian governments and industry need to work together to create a national plan to invest in building and maintaining long-term, trade infrastructure..The level of agreement is at least nine in ten in every region — highest in Alberta (96%) and Ontario (95%), suggesting a national consensus has emerged on the issue..Nine in ten (92%) concerned that without a strategic and long-term plan, taxpayer dollars for trade infrastructure investments may not be spent wisely..Many Canadians are unimpressed with how Canada stacks up against other countries on this file..91% think that Canada’s level of investment in trade infrastructure should be proportional to that of other G7 countries87% find it concerning that Canada has dropped from 10th in 2009 to 32nd (behind Azerbaijan) in 2019 in the World Economic Forum’s ranking of quality of transportation infrastructureNine in ten (91%) think staying competitive with other major trading economies like the US, the EU, the UK and Australia is very/somewhat important. A similar proportion (88%) find it concerning that among major trading economies like the US, the EU, the UK and Australia, Canada is the only one that does not have a long-term trade infrastructure plan..Canadians also place a high degree of importance on a skilled workforce (95%), supply chains, labour supply, and internal trade (94% in each) and international trade (92%) in relation to Canada’s economy. Similar percentages believe the labour supply is important..The Ipsos poll of 2,000 Canadian adults was conducted between June 2 and June 5, 2023, on behalf of the Canadian Construction Association. The poll is accurate to within ±2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled.
