Young people less trusting, poll finds

Younger Canadians are generally less trusting than older people, according to a recent survey conducted by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies.

Atlantic Canadians are the most trusting in general (71 per cent), while British Columbians are least trusting (51 per cent), says Jack Jedwab, president of the association.

“For several years we’ve been monitoring evolving rates of trust in peoples, nations and institutions,” Jedwab explains. With heightened degrees of polarization, especially along ideological lines, he says it’s vital to understand the extent this is accompanied by a breakdown in trust between people and within communities. 

“The persistence of younger people being less trusting is an outcome of growing polarization,” he says. “It’s compounded by greater vulnerability, where age intersects with less education and lower income all contributing to higher instability and more challenges for resolving conflicts where trust is often critical.”

This study suggests that the amount of education a person has can play a role in trust. People with university degrees are more inclined to trust (65 per cent), while folks with a high school diploma are less inclined (52 per cent).

And indeed, income is a factor. Folks making more than $100K are more likely to trust in general (62 per cent), while people making $40K are less likely (52 per cent).

Perhaps unsurprising, people living in rural areas are more inclined to trust their neighbours than city folk. Looking at this issue from the perspective of age, trust in neighbours is stronger for people 35 or more.

Overall, Jedwab says, ethnic minorities are the most trusting of people who share their ethnic background. Specifically, members of ethnic minorities who speak a language other than French or English are far more trusting of people that share their ethnic background than those who don’t.

Race also seems to play a role. According to Jedwab, Black Canadians are least trusting of people in general, while Chinese and Middle Eastern are generally more trusting of people that share the same background.

A related Leger survey for the Association for Canadian Studies looked at the level of trust in the workplace.

Trust is vital in establishing a strong workplace culture and is linked to successful economic outcomes, productivity and job satisfaction, says Jedwab.

“The survey found that younger people are also less trusting of co-workers,” he notes. But most other Canadians do, beginning with the 45-54 years’ old cohort.

Meanwhile, most Canadians say they trust their bosses and that level starts to increase between ages 35-44.

“The results on trust send an important message to labor leaders who are the object of much distrust compared to employers who earn relatively strong trust. The gap may affect a union’s influence in effectively representing workers.”

Indeed, based the survey results suggest the Canadian view of labour unions is not positive. Most Canadians don’t trust labor union leaders, especially between ages 45 and 54.

Finally, Canadian trust their co-workers more than their employers or union leaders.

“Income is an important driver of trust across that spectrum,” says Jedwab. “People with higher incomes are far more trusting of bosses and co-workers.”

Both surveys were conducted in late October, the first with 1,527 respondents, the latter with 1,537.

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