Wishes for 2026: New Year poll finds Canadians generally optimistic, hoping for more money and better health

It's that time of year again, when many of us think about health, family and personal goals as the new year begins.

Most Canadians say they had a good year in 2025, and they’re expecting similar good fortune in 2026, according to a new poll.

Assessments of how their country, province and community fared during the last year are more circumspect, and there’s a significant generational divide on what Canadians are hoping for out of 2026.

Research Co. conducted the online poll among a representative sample of 1,002 Canadian adults from Nov. 21 through 23 and released the results on New Year’s Day.

The pollster asked respondents whether 2025 had been good or bad, all things considered, for themselves, personally, as well as for Canada as a whole, their specific province, their municipality, their family and their work.

Personal assessments were most positive, with two-thirds (66 per cent) saying 2025 was either “good” (46 per cent) or “very good” (20 per cent) for them personally and an even larger number (71 per cent) saying the year had been good or very good for their family (50 per cent good, 21 per cent very good).

Positive views were less common for the workplace (48 per cent good or very good), the community (54 per cent), the province (48 per cent) and Canada (51 per cent), though “good” assessments outnumbered “bad” for each item canvassed.

Looking toward the future, Canadians were similarly upbeat, with 39 per cent saying they expected 2026 to be “better” for them personally and 38 per cent saying they expected the new year to be better for their families.

Fewer than one-in-10 expected the next 365 days to be worse for themselves (nine per cent) or their families (eight per cent), with the largest groups of respondents saying they expect 2026 to be “about the same” as 2025.

Views on the other areas canvassed were more mixed, but those saying better still outnumbered those saying worse for Canada (30 per cent better, 18 per cent worse), their provinces (23 per cent better, 21 per cent worse), their municipalities (22 per cent better, 18 per cent worse) and their workplaces (28 per cent better, nine per cent worse).

Research Co. also presented respondents with four options—“more money,” “more health,” “more time with family and friends,” and “more travel”—and asked them to rank the choices, with number one being the thing they most wished for in the new year.

Overall, “more money” came out on top, with 37 per cent choosing it as their top option. Smaller numbers chose “more health” (30 per cent) and “more time with family and friends” (26 per cent), while “more travel” was the least common preference, with just seven per cent listing it as their top choice.

Responses to this question varied significantly by age, with younger respondents much more likely to choose “more money” as their top wish for 2026 (51 per cent of those 18 to 34 did), while older respondents were much more likely to choose “more health” (48 per cent of those 55 and older did).

Those ages 35 to 54 were more evenly split, with 38 per cent preferring “more money” and 28 per cent listing each of “more health” and “more time with family and friends” as their top choice.

Research Co. says its data is weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region, and the margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Subsamples—such as age groups or specific provinces—carry larger margins of error. The full data tables are available on the pollster’s website.