TORONTO – The year 2025 ends much the way it started: with political and economic turmoil that has persisted in some form or another for the duration, with Canada and the United States continuing to fail to reach a trade deal, and that relationship strained.
For tens of millions of Canadians, cost-of-living and affordability challenges have been exacerbated by the trade situation.
While provincial governments began the year basking in higher approval levels buoyed by a jolt of national pride, they end it with the same kind of enthusiasm Canadians have for stale fruitcake.
New data from the non-profit Angus Redi Institute finds that satisfaction with governments has dropped considerably compared to the beginning of 2025. Comparing scores on ARI’s Government Performance Index – an average of satisfaction across 16 issues – scores are down by approximately one-quarter.
The average in March – led by a significant rise in those saying the tariffs were a top issue – was 34 nationally.
That has dropped to 26 now, as the cost of living and health care are back atop the list of priorities, and largely a cause of dissatisfaction.
Scores range from 35 in Saskatchewan, where residents are mostly likely to rate their government as performing well on the issues they care most about, to 20 in Ontario.
Although the two prairie provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan are seen by residents in each as performing better than those in other provinces rate their own respective government, there are also red flags.
On health care, 68 per cent in Alberta and 72% in Saskatchewan believe their provincial government is doing a ‘poor job’. On the rising cost of living, 67% in Alberta and 61% in Saskatchewan are critical of their governments’ performances.
