TORONTO -- A majority of Canadians say they are pessimistic about the outlook of the COVID-19 pandemic but support the federal government's response to the crisis, according to the latest survey from Nanos Research

According to results of the survey released Sunday night, 67 per cent of Canadians believe the coronavirus crisis will get worse in the next month, while 17 per cent believe it will get better, 10 per cent said it would remain the same and six per cent were unsure.

Those in households of five or more, or who frequently check the news, are more likely to think the situation will worsen, the research firm reported. Nearly six-in-ten Canadians say they check news about the new novel coronavirus several times a day.

Nanos Research said it found most Canadians think the federal government has had a good or "very good" response to COVID-19.

Two-thirds of Canadians say the Trudeau government's handling of the outbreak has been very good (22 per cent) or good (40 per cent). Residents of Atlantic Canada reported the highest approval of the government's response at 48 per cent, while Quebec has the lowest at 16 per cent.

To minimize bias, the survey's questions related to physical distancing and financial security asked respondents to comment about their neighbours, rather than themselves. Nanos said the responses should be considered a likely proxy for personal behaviour.

The survey found that fewer than three-in-10 Canadians believe their neighbours are strictly following public health guidelines.

It also found that four in five Canadians believe their neighbours are strictly (29 per cent) or "somewhat strictly" (51 per cent) following health authorities' advice including avoiding crowded places, limiting non-essential gatherings and keeping a distance of at least 2 metres from others. Fewer than one-in-five think their neighbours are not following this guidance.

Worries increased with age, as nearly 87 per cent of respondents over 55 said they were concerned about their neighbours' physical distancing practices. About 80 per cent of responders aged 35 to 54 said the same, while fewer than 69 per cent of Canadians under age 34 agreed.

When it comes to employment, more than six-in-ten Canadians say their neighbours are worried (34 per cent) or "somewhat worried" (28 per cent) about losing their job due to COVID-19.

Almost two-thirds said their neighbours are worried (33 per cent) or "somewhat worried" (32 per cent) about paying bills.

The survey found the majority of financial worries were reported by Canadians living in the Prairies, where 68 per cent worried about job loss and 72 per cent worried about their financials.

METHODOLOGY

Nanos conducted an RDD dual frame (land- and cell-lines) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,013 Canadians, 18 years of age or older, between March 24th and 27th, 2020 as part of an omnibus survey. Participants were randomly recruited by telephone using live agents and administered a survey online. The sample included both land- and cell-lines across Canada. The results were statistically checked and weighted by age and gender using the latest Census information and the sample is geographically stratified to be representative of Canada.

The margin of error for this survey is 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

This study was commissioned by CTV News and Globe and Mail and the research was conducted by Nanos Research.