With reports of hospital emergency rooms under strain and cases of flu, RSV and COVID-19 spiking across Canada, health care has surpassed inflation and jobs as the top national issue of concern, according to Nanos Research’s weekly tracking.
The latest Nanos tracking shows a four-week change in the top unprompted national issue of concern – unprompted meaning the Canadians surveyed were not provided a list of issues to choose from.
While concern over inflation rose two percentage points over the same period, health care surpassed it and is now at the top of the list at 16.1 per cent, up a full three percentage points in the last four weeks.
“What we’re seeing is that an increasing number of Canadians are focused on health care as their top unprompted national concern, it’s what they're increasingly worried about right now,” said Nanos Research Chair Nik Nanos on the latest episode of CTV News Trend Line.
Health care is also at a two-year high as a national issue of concern, according to Nanos, and it’s been a top concern in Ontario since May – where 89 per cent of respondents said investing in health care was an important priority.
In late November, leaders from five of Ontario’s largest health-care unions issued an urgent appeal to Premier Doug Ford’s government to help ease overburdened hospitals, asking for more investment in staffing rather than spending money in private clinics in order to free up hospital beds. The provincial government also announced in summer that they would be expanding some surgeries into private clinics in an attempt to address backlogs -- a move experts are worried could lead to increased privatization.
The problem extends far beyond Ontario, with reports of health-care systems nationwide struggling to keep up amid staff shortages and a “tripledemic” of COVID-19, flu, and RSV cases.
When it comes to public anger and who Canadians are blaming for the crisis in health care, Nanos said it’s not any individual level of government; instead, “they’re blaming everyone.”
“The reality is that provinces deliver health care as part of their constitutional mandate. But the federal government plays a significant role in funding health care,” said Nanos. “What we know from the polling is that there's been consistent support for publicly-funded health care across Canada, and consistently over time, it's kind of like part of our identity.”
Nanos added Canadians tend to get nervous when politicians refer to any kind of "American style" private health-care system, which is why governments tread "very carefully" around any perception of privatizing health-care services "because they know that it can be a very risky strategy, depending on what they say."
"So I'm not surprised that the Ford government is that soft pedalling anything related to … privatization and connecting that to changes in the health-care system," he said.
Methodology
Nanos Research conducted 1,000 random interviews recruited from an RDD land-and cell-line sample of Canadians aged 18 years over, ending November 25, 2022. The data is based on a four week rolling average where each week the oldest group of 250 interviews is dropped a new group of 250 is added. A random survey of 1,000 Canadians is accurate 3.1 percentage points, plus or minus, 19 times out of 20.
With files from Alexandra Mae Jones, Creeson Agecoutay, CTV Toronto and CP24
With the anniversary of Ukraine's invasion by Russia around the corner, CTV News sat down with a Russian warfare expert to discuss how he sees the conflict playing out and what happens next.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, as of Thursday morning there were extreme cold or winter storm warnings active from coast to coast, with the harshest extreme cold warnings stretching from northern Alberta all the way to Nova Scotia.
Paid subscriptions to on-demand care are among the many strategies primary health-care providers in Ontario are adopting in order to meet increased demand for access to doctors in the past year, while also managing staffing shortages.
Nestle Canada says it is winding down its frozen meals and pizza business in Canada over the next six months. The four brands that will no longer be sold in the freezer aisle at Canadian grocery stores are Delissio, Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine and Life Cuisine.
A paramedic signing off for duty for the last time got choked up and teary-eyed during his final radio call to colleagues.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
One of Saskatchewan’s oldest hockey rinks has garnered national attention for its unique features and unusual design.
The U.S. is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over U.S. airspace for a couple days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down due to risks of harm for people on the ground, officials said Thursday.
Will we see six more weeks of winter, or an early spring? Here’s what some of the groundhogs (and one human) have predicted so far, from coast-to-coast.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
A Manitoba judge is being asked to decide whether Premier Heather Stefanson violated conflict of interest rules, as alleged by the leader of Manitoba's Liberal Party.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, as of Thursday morning there were extreme cold or winter storm warnings active from coast to coast, with the harshest extreme cold warnings stretching from northern Alberta all the way to Nova Scotia.
On CTVNews.ca and YouTube: Health journalist Avis Favaro joins our Trend Line podcast, for an in-depth episode dedicated to the growing crises facing the Canadian health-care system.
It's about to get extremely cold across central Ontario, according to Environment Canada.
A court has seen video of a Calgary pastor encouraging truckers to keep blocking the Canada-U.S. border to protest COVID-19 restrictions because the world was watching.
The U.S. is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over U.S. airspace for a couple days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down due to risks of harm for people on the ground, officials said Thursday.
With the anniversary of Ukraine's invasion by Russia around the corner, CTV News sat down with a Russian warfare expert to discuss how he sees the conflict playing out and what happens next.
A former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group who fled to Norway told Reuters he wanted to apologize for fighting in Ukraine and was speaking out to bring the perpetrators of crimes to justice.
A 'high chance' of a mass shooting in Hollywood was thwarted Tuesday by police seizing a cache of guns and ammunition in a high-rise apartment where several rifles were pointed toward a nearby park, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
A Brazilian magazine on Thursday released audio of a senator claiming then President Jair Bolsonaro sought help in a plot to annul the October elections and keep himself in power.
U.S. President Joe Biden is a man who writes down his thoughts. And some of those handwritten musings over his decades of public service are now a part of a special counsel's investigation into the handling of classified documents.
Health Canada is 'exploring' whether a federal policy that restricts gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada should change, after CTV News exclusively reported on Wednesday that a gay man is taking the federal government to court over it.
Canada's justice minister accused Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives Thursday of using tragedies such as the killing of a young Ontario Provincial Police officer 'to try to score political points.'
The federal government is seeking to delay the extension of assisted dying eligibility to people whose sole condition is a mental disorder until March 17, 2024. Justice Minister David Lametti introduced a bill seeking the extension in the House of Commons on Thursday.
On CTVNews.ca and YouTube: Health journalist Avis Favaro joins our Trend Line podcast, for an in-depth episode dedicated to the growing crises facing the Canadian health-care system.
Ontario fully supports the federal government's push to make health-care funding contingent on data reporting, the province said Thursday as it announced a plan to boost access to primary care doctors.
Paid subscriptions to on-demand care are among the many strategies primary health-care providers in Ontario are adopting in order to meet increased demand for access to doctors in the past year, while also managing staffing shortages.
After a tiny radioactive capsule went missing in the Australian outback, an expert in Canada says the likelihood of the same happening in this country is unlikely, given our strong regulations governing the handling of radioactive materials.
Chinese scientists have successfully cloned three 'super cows' that can produce an unusually high amount of milk, state media reported, hailing it as a breakthrough for China's dairy industry to reduce its dependence on imported breeds.
An archeological team from Saint Mary's University will travel to France this summer to use ground-penetrating radar and other technology to assist a United States defence agency recover and identify military personnel missing since the Second World War.
A former 'Dances With Wolves' actor accused of sexually abusing Indigenous girls and leading a cult must remain held without bail until his next court hearing, a judge ordered Thursday morning.
A new queer film about to debut in Toronto focuses on the positive representation of younger people who are confident in their sexuality.
When the opera 'La Flambeau' premieres next week in Montreal, Black performers will be front and centre in an artistic medium where they have historically been under-represented.
Nestle Canada says it is winding down its frozen meals and pizza business in Canada over the next six months. The four brands that will no longer be sold in the freezer aisle at Canadian grocery stores are Delissio, Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine and Life Cuisine.
Canada's main stock index shored itself up against losses in the energy sector for the second day in a row, while U.S. markets were mixed.
Higher grocery prices are expected to hit stores across Canada soon as a blackout on price increases over the holiday season comes to an end.
Whether looking for love or a casual encounter, 3 in 10 U.S. adults say they have used a dating site or app -- with mixed experiences, according to a Pew Research Center study out Thursday.
As Black History Month gets underway, Canada Post has unveiled a new stamp honouring Chloe Cooley, a young Black woman who was known to challenge her enslavement in the late 18th century.
A paramedic signing off for duty for the last time got choked up and teary-eyed during his final radio call to colleagues.
A former captain of Canada's women's soccer team is calling for the federal government to launch a full judicial inquiry into abuse in sports across the country.
One of Saskatchewan’s oldest hockey rinks has garnered national attention for its unique features and unusual design.
A group of boys who fled the war in Ukraine arrived in Quebec City Wednesday for a hockey tournament that brings players together from around the world.
A good winter tire will always outperform an all-season tire in snowy, icy driving conditions and be the safer alternative. Edmunds' experts explain the importance of winter tires and offer advice on when to use them and how much you should pay.
The U.S. Justice Department has requested documents from Tesla related to its Autopilot and 'Full Self-Driving' features, according to a regulatory filing.
Europe is taking another big step toward cutting its energy ties with Russia, banning imports of diesel fuel and other products made from crude oil in Russian refineries. The European Union ban takes effect Feb. 5 following its embargo on coal and most oil from Russia.
