Economic and Social Reports
Hopefulness about Canadian society

Measures of unity and cohesion received increased attention following the COVID-19 pandemic, given their potential role in the ability of countries to respond to challenges and support well-being (MacIsaac et al. 2023). In mid-2022, there was a decrease in national unity, as measured by sense of belonging to Canada, with about 7 in 10 people (72%) reporting strong or very strong belonging to Canada. By late 2024, unity had increased to 80% (Statistics Canada 2025a) and became more closely aligned with pre-pandemic levels.^Note  Monitoring national unity is important because it is a fundamental building block of cohesive societies (MacIsaac et al. 2024), which are typically healthier, are more resilient to external shocks and crises, and experience higher economic growth (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2011). In charting a path forward, unity can provide common ground on which to build a more resilient Canada, particularly given the current challenges and tensions between Canada and the United States.

Although national unity appears to be increasing, relatively little is known about whether this aligns with increased hopefulness about society^Note  in the future. Future outlook is a quality of life indicator in Canada and represents individuals’ opportunity for prosperity (Statistics Canada 2023). In a similar vein, hopefulness about society can focus more specifically on opportunity for societal prosperity. In April 2024, new questions on future outlook were included in the Survey Series on People and their Communities (SSPC) to better understand individuals’ future outlook on Canadian society. Results show that over 8 in 10 respondents (82%) were hopeful (ranging from a little hopeful to very hopeful) about unity among Canadians, with similar proportions being hopeful about the way democracy works in Canada (83%) and economic opportunities in Canada (75%).

Though SSPC data predate the recent challenges and tensions between Canada and the United States, they serve as a useful baseline for Canadians’ sense of national unity and their societal outlook prior to these events and future comparisons. Thus, this timely article provides a summary of these new measures of hopefulness about society in relation to unity, as measured by respondents’ feelings of connectedness to Canadians in general. Several risk factors for individual well-being, which are tied to differences in hopefulness about the future, specifically regarding unity among Canadians, are also examined. A unique feature of this article is the focus on societal future outlook.

People who feel warm towards Canadians in general are also more hopeful about society in the future

Unity in Canada seems to be high, as people feel warm towards Canadians in general. In April 2024, nearly three-quarters (73%) of SSPC – Social Cohesion and Experiences of Discrimination (Wave 5) respondents felt warm to very warm towards Canadians in general.^Note  Others typically held neutral feelings (21%) or, less commonly, felt cold (6%) towards Canadians in general.

Feelings of warmth towards Canadians in general were also tied to hopefulness about society in the future. Approximately 9 in 10 respondents who felt very warm (i.e., scores of 8 to 10 on the scale from 0 to 10) towards Canadians (91%) felt hopeful about unity among Canadians (Chart 1). By contrast, approximately 8 in 10 respondents (83%) who felt warm, 7 in 10 (72%) who felt neutral and 6 in 10 (59%) who felt cold towards Canadians were hopeful about unity among Canadians. Few respondents felt very cold (i.e., scores of 0 to 2) towards Canadians, and findings for this group should be interpreted with caution. Results were similar for hopefulness about the way democracy works and economic opportunities in Canada (Chart 1).

Though no inferences can be made about the direction of influence between people’s sense of unity and hopefulness about society in the future, the results support the presence of a meaningful and consistent link between feelings towards Canadians and hopefulness about society in the future. Notably, positive feelings towards Canadians are tied not only to being hopeful about unity among Canadians, but also to being hopeful about economic opportunities and the way democracy works in Canada.

Data table for Chart 1

Data table for chart 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for chart 1 Unity among Canadians, The way democracy works in Canada and Economic opportunities in Canada, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

	Unity among Canadians	The way democracy works in Canada	Economic opportunities in Canada
	percent
Note E use with caution Notes: “Very warm” and “warm” are used to denote respondents who reported scores of 8 to 10 and 6 or 7, respectively, on a scale from 0 to 10, while “very cold” and “cold” denote those who reported scores of 0 to 2 and 3 or 4, respectively. “Neutral” denotes a score of 5. “Hopeful” includes “a little hopeful,” “somewhat hopeful” and “very hopeful.” Results show a similar pattern when respondents who reported being “a little hopeful” were excluded. Source: 2024 Survey Series on People and their Communities.
Very warm	91	90	82
Warm	83	84	75
Neutral	72	74	65
Cold	59	55	50
Very cold	25E use with caution	43E use with caution	39E use with caution

Ties between well-being and hopefulness about unity among Canadians

Inequalities, grievances and pessimism about the future, especially as they relate to perceptions of “being left behind,” can erode social unity (MacIsaac et al. 2024). Risk factors could include economic, health or social disparities. SSPC Wave 5 included questions related to well-being as part of Statistics Canada’s Quality of Life Framework (Statistics Canada 2023), which assessed respondents’ financial difficulties, general and mental health, and whether they faced discrimination. These risk factors were closely tied to differences in hopefulness about unity among Canadians.

In April 2024, nearly 9 in 10 individuals who reported their household’s ability to meet financial needs in the last 12 months as easy or very easy (89%) were hopeful about unity among Canadians, compared with around 7 in 10 (72%) for individuals who reported it as difficult or very difficult (Chart 2). Similarly, 84% of individuals with excellent, very good or good self-reported general health felt hopeful about unity among Canadians, compared with 75% for those with fair or poor general health.^Note  Results were nearly identical when comparing hopefulness about unity among Canadians in the future between individuals who experienced racial or ethnic discrimination in the last five years and those who did not. Overall, these results underscore the importance of considering risk factors, including economic, health and social disparities, to better understand hopefulness about unity in Canada.

Data table for Chart 2

Data table for chart 2
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for chart 2 , calculated using (appearing as column headers).

	Percent
Notes: Discrimination refers to respondents who reported experiencing in the last five years one or more instances of discrimination, unfair treatment, exclusion, physical attack or threats, or verbal abuse because of their race or ethnicity. Financial difficulty refers to self-reported levels of difficulty meeting household financial needs in the last 12 months. Source: 2024 Survey Series on People and their Communities.
Financial difficulty
Easy or very easy	89
Neither difficult nor easy	86
Difficult or very difficult	72
General health
Excellent, very good or good	84
Fair or poor	75
Experience of discrimination
No	85
Yes	76

Discussion

In 2024, Canada exhibited relatively strong unity, as measured by people’s feelings of connectedness to Canadians in general. New questions on hopefulness about society provided a unique opportunity to examine the tie between unity and societal future outlook. Notably, feelings of warmth towards Canadians in general were linked to being more hopeful about unity among Canadians, the way democracy works in Canada and economic opportunities in Canada. However, this article also highlighted several risk factors, such as financial difficulties, poor general health and experiences of discrimination, which were tied to being less hopeful about unity among Canadians. Future work can focus on protective factors (e.g., trust in others), alongside risk factors such as financial, health or social disparities that were considered in this article, to provide more robust insights on unity and hopefulness about society in Canada.

Authors

Samuel MacIsaac and Rubab Arim are with the Social Analysis and Modelling Division, Analytical Studies and Modelling Branch, at Statistics Canada.

References

Findlay, L., and Arim, R. 2020. Canadians report lower self-perceived mental health duri ng the COVID-19 pandemic. StatCan COVID-19: Data to Insights for a Better Canada. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 45-28-0001.

MacIsaac, S., Schellenberg, G., and Wavrock, D. 2023. Social cohesion: Concept and measurement. Geneva: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

MacIsaac, S., Schellenberg, G., Arim, R., and Wavrock, D. 2024. Measuring social cohesion. Geneva: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

MacIsaac, S., and Schellenberg, G. 2025. Unity in Canada: Experimental measures of feelings towards people with similar or different views. Economic and Social Reports 5(5), 1-15.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2011. Perspectives on global development 2012: Social cohesion in a shifting world. Paris: OECD Publishing.

Statistics Canada. 2023. Infosheet: Quality of Life Framework for Canada. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

Statistics Canada. 2025a. Table 45-10-0077-01 Sense of belonging to Canada, by gender and province.

Statistics Canada. 2025b. Table 43-10-0064-01 Sense of belonging to the local community, town, province and Canada and trust in people, by groups designated as visible minorities and selected sociodemographic characteristics, 2020.

Statistics Canada. 2025c. Table 13-10-0847-01 Future outlook by gender and province.