KPMG survey reveals support for stimulus in Canadian economy
by CM Staff
Canadian confidence that the economy will recover this year has also slipped a little, with those very confident of a rebound in 2021 falling 4 per cent since January.
Federal Budget 2021 (CNW Group/KPMG LLP)
TORONTO — Canadians continue to support major stimulus to help kick-start the country’s economic recovery but want future government spending to be prudent, targeted and focused on initiatives that will grow our economy, finds a recent KPMG in Canada survey.
“The vast majority of Canadians want government to launch a major stimulus program to get our economy moving again,” says Mary Jo Fedy, National Leader, Enterprise, KPMG in Canada. “But they also want those investments centred around areas that will drive sustained health and prosperity in the country. The areas they would like targeted are, not surprisingly, healthcare and domestic manufacturing – two key sectors whose importance to the country was highlighted during the pandemic.”
Key Survey Findings:
- 77 per cent believe we need government to step in with a major stimulus program to get our economy back to pre-Covid levels, down from 82 per cent in a January poll conducted by KPMG
- 25 per cent want investments in healthcare/health sciences, down 9 per cent
- 24 per cent want investments in domestic manufacturing, up 2 per cent
- 89 per cent say future spending must be prudent, targeted and focused on initiatives that will grow our economy
- 88 per cent say small- and medium-sized businesses in Canada have been the economic victims of the pandemic and government needs to do more for them, up 1 per cent from January
93 per cent want government to create incentives to “buy Canadian” to restart our economy and ensure we build necessary domestic capacity to supply our critical needs, up 1 per cent.
Canadian confidence that the economy will recover this year has also slipped a little, with those very confident of a rebound in 2021 falling 4 per cent since January. But the recent ramp up in vaccine rollout has the nation more optimistic that we will see sustained growth in the latter half of the year.
While Canadians are optimistic that vaccines will get their lives and the economy back on track soon, one thing they are not ready for is a reopening of the border with the United States. Barely one quarter of Canadians said it is time to start thinking about resuming normal traffic between the two nations.
