The most recent Léger poll of federal voting intentions showed that Canadians were split: 33% for Liberals and 32% for Conservatives across the country (eg Click here for the latest federal forecasts of Qc125). In fact, they’re grumpy about what’s happening in Ottawa, according to an Ipsos poll earlier this month.

Isn’t the health network nationwide on the brink of collapse? Are foreign actors not interfering in our democratic process (they would even have been “encouraged” to according to the leader of the official opposition)? What about persistent inflation and exorbitant food prices? And what about access to property?

But are Canadians morally broken?

The Quebec polling firm used its latest probing to pay special attention to the hearts and souls of Canadians. And it seems that the apocalyptic visions of some politicians about the future of the country are not at all shared by the citizens, quite the contrary! They may worry about the future of others, a poll earlier this year suggested, but not their own!

Leger’s panel was therefore subjected to a series of questions about Canadians’ optimism about their lives. These ranged from feelings about life in general, to mental and physical health, to the state of personal finances (see Leger’s report herepp. 44-58).

When asked “Which of the following statements best describes how you are feeling about your life in general right now?” a clear majority of Canadian respondents (60%) chose “very optimistic” or “somewhat optimistic”, while only one in seven (14%) said they were “very pessimistic” or “somewhat pessimistic”.

In fact, Leger found no major regional discrepancies in the data. The pollster measures the highest level of optimism in Quebec (65%), while Ontario (58%) and Alberta (54%) are slightly below the national average. In terms of levels of pessimism, only Alberta (22%) really stands out from the rest.

Overall, these fluctuations remain small. Furthermore, optimism is the same for men and women and across all age groups – only the 35-44 age group shows optimism (51%), which is statistically below the national average but still above the 50% mark lies.

Official opposition leader Pierre Poilievre’s message that “Canada is broken” does not appear to be convincing his own Conservative constituents. About 58% say they are optimistic. This is very close to the Canadian average (60%). Liberal (68%) and Bloc (64%) voters are the most optimistic, while New Democrat voters are similar to Conservatives at 59%.

Of course, mental health plays a crucial role in one’s perception of future prospects, and again, many Canadians are more optimistic than pessimistic. Across the survey sample, 63% are optimistic about their mental health, compared to just 14% who say they are pessimistic about it.

Again, Quebecers (71%) are more likely to be optimistic about their mental health than their compatriots in the rest of Canada, but overall, region of residence would not be an important factor.

Between the generations, on the other hand, the differences are clearer. The wisdom that comes with aging appears to translate into better perceptions of one’s mental health.

However, it is important to emphasize that such data does not mean that all is rosy in Canada, rather that our perception of how Canadians feel and live their lives can be significantly distorted by the melodrama of social media.

Fortunately, future optimism doesn’t seem to be a partisan issue.