OTTAWA: For many Canadians, the answer to a common question in December carries an unusual answer. What are you doing New Years Eve? Waiting for next year.
For many, this holiday season – with parties cancelled and traditions put off – is an obstacle to overcome.
Now, new data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds people from coast-to-coast hoping fervently for a new era when neighbours and communities are safely vaccinated, and (almost) everyone regains a life that looks more like it used to.
Three things that Canadians are looking forward to most: being able to go about their day-to-day routine without worrying about the virus (44% look forward to this), being able to resume the hugs, pecks on the cheek and handshakes that come with physical contact (43%), and international travel (42%).
More Key Findings:
• British Columbians are most likely to look forward to hugging their loved ones (51%) while Quebec leads the nation in wanting to go out for dinner (45%) and go to a party (19%).
• Manitoba residents are most excited to get together with older people they have been unable to see. 35 per cent say this, with Saskatchewan second at 28 percent.
• Atlantic Canadians are most likely to say they look forward to resuming their day-to-day errands and activities. It is the only region in the country where at least 60 per cent choose that activity.
• Quebecers want to party at nearly twice the national average (19% vs. 11%). They also are by far the most likely in the country to wish to go out for dinner or drinks at a restaurant. Nearly half (45%) say this in Quebec, while Ontario and Manitoba are next at just 30 per cent.
• One-in-five Canadians say that a pre-pandemic normal will never return. Notably, 48 per cent of those who will not get vaccinated against COVID-19 say this, while the proportion is just 15 per cent among those who will.
Three items stand out in the survey, according to Angus Reid Institute. Just over two-in-five (44%) say they want most to resume a normal life where the simplest day-to-day activities do not take on extra stress. Nearly everything in public life has been imbued with a health risk as COVID-19 spread this year, and many people are anticipating lifting this weight off their weary shoulders.
The same number (43%) say they can’t wait to be able to hug their friends again or greet an acquaintance with a handshake. Many Canadians are also eager to spend some time far away: taking a trip internationally is chosen by two-in-five respondents (42%) as well. The airline industry has been crippled by COVID-19. Air Canada, for example, reported a 96 per cent reduction in second-quarter passenger travel this year and an 88 per cent reduction in the third quarter.
Notably, one-infive Canadians (20%) are looking forward to taking a trip closer to home, within Canada. Generational differences in post-pandemic priorities When looking at different demographic groups, the activities which make the top five are similar, but their relative importance varies. Those who are 55 or older are most keen on being stressfree about doing regular things.
It is the most anticipated activity among men of that age, and a close second for women. This may owe to the elevated personal risk of COVID-19 in that age group. Wealthier Canadians want to get back in the skies Differences are also evident based on household income levels. While income does not appear to influence a person’s likelihood to travel domestically post-pandemic, it bears a considerable impact on international travel.
Among those whose household income is $150 thousand or more, two-thirds (64%) say they look forward to international travel. That number drops across each subsequent lower income level, to just 20 per cent among those with incomes less than $25 thousand.
The survey said that as Canada’s vaccinations are administered, a return to normalcy becomes less a distant hope and more a forthcoming reality. Experts and public health officials, however, caution that the resumption of pre-pandemic life will not be instantaneous, with some estimating it could take a year or longer.
Canadians largely appear to be attuned to this messaging, as more than three-in-five (63%) do not expect normality to resume any earlier than fall 2021. Notably, one-in-five (20%) are even less optimistic and say life in Canada “won’t ever go back to the way it was”: The Angus Reid Institute (ARI) was founded in October 2014 by pollster and sociologist, Dr. Angus Reid. ARI is a national, not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation established to advance education by commissioning, conducting and disseminating to the public impartial statistical data, research and analysis on economics, political science, philanthropy, domestic and international affairs and socio-economic issues.