You wouldn’t think of watching truck drivers or signs carrying vaccines protesting against vaccines, but new research shows that Canadians have more confidence in their institutions and neighbors after the COVID-19 pandemic.
After all, Canada is far from the national singing of Kum Ba Yah. Kerry Wu, lead author of the newly published article, said trust is strongly linked to how much money you make.
“Income is a good predictor,” said Wu, a sociologist at York University who has just published his study in the journal Social Science Research.
“Most Canadians have become more trusting of their neighbors and have summed up the ‘others.’ But (some) Canadians have become much less trusting. “
Although previous research has taken snapshots of Canada’s attitudes during the pandemic, Wu and two co-authors wanted to see how they may have changed over time.
There are three theories about what happens to social trust during social stress. Some researchers claim that people gather; some that fall apart. Others say that levels of social trust are determined early in life and subsequent events change little.
“We found these three types of models,” Wu said.
The three authors began a standard Angus Reed survey of about 2,500 Canadians in September 2019, just before the pandemic struck. This study asks a series of routine questions such as: Would you say that most people can be trusted?
Wu took these original data and returned to the same respondents seven times by February 2021.
Canadians are among the most trusting people in the world, Wu said, recording levels of trust twice as high as, say, Americans. Despite COVID, he said, they still are.
For about two-thirds of respondents, overall trust in society and its institutions improved slightly during this time. About 58% trust their neighbors a little more after the pandemic than before.
“I was worried about social confidence that there could be a huge decline,” Wu said. “But research shows that’s not the case.”
About 19% report a small change in their general feelings of trust. Almost a quarter felt the same way about their neighbors as before COVID.
But nearly 18% of respondents reported a sharp decline. When Wu cross-indexed this data with information on income and economic security, the model was clear.
“Canadians with lower incomes and lower socio-economic status have lost more confidence because of the pandemic.
It’s all about control, Wu said.
Much previous research has shown that people who feel they are in control of their lives and can control their own destiny tend to have higher levels of trust. These people tend to be better off economically.
“In all societies, you will see people with higher incomes have more confidence.”
Trust is risky. Those with more resources are better able to take that risk, Wu said.
“It’s really about whether these people have the resources to take the risk. Socio-economic status is the single strongest indicator of confidence, even before the pandemic.”
This appears to have happened in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People who lose trust are people with lower incomes, less powerful,” Wu said.
He said the study contains a strong lesson for any politician who is interested in building a more cohesive Canada.
“Inequality is a predictor of why trust is declining. We need to think about how to promote trust.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 16, 2022.
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