Canadians feeling optimistic about 2024

The best part about the end of the year is the beginning of a new one. 2023 was hard on a lot of Canadians, but according to a recent poll, people are feeling optimistic that 2024 will be a lot better.

So, CityNews took to downtown Edmonton to find out how Edmontonians feel about the new year.

“I think it will be more or less the same as last year,” said Damon Mclean.

The data collected by the Angus Reid Institute looks into the optimism Canadians have for 2024. However, according to the data, there are some mixed feelings among Canadians.

Two in five Canadians think the year will be better while around 17 per cent that were polled think it’s just going to get worse. But for some people CityNews spoke to on Thursday, they say a few things need to happen in order for the year to be considered “good.”

“Only if inflation goes down or stops or I get a raise. Because that’s the one thing that’s been the big stressor I think,” said Alanna Kavanagh.

Sam Nguyen added, “I think, especially after the pandemic last year was maybe a little more rough. But as we distance ourselves from that it will just begin to improve and get better.”

The president of the Angus Reid Institute told CityNews over the phone on Thursday that those topics were discussed with Canadians who were polled.

In order for 2024 to be a good year for Canadians, they want to see improvements to their physical and mental health on top of quality of life. And pressures associated with those adjustments are affected by the cost of living in the country.

“You’re much more likely to be facing this year with a more negative or a more pessimistic mind set because so much of that is driven by what’s going on in peoples stress levels, specifically financially,” said Shachi Kurl, President of the Angus Reid Institute.