Even in an age of economic uncertainty, Canadians place more trust in private businesses and public sector institutions than their neighbour to the south, according to the results of the 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer.
The 10th edition of the study, conducted by research firm StrategyOne on behalf of the global public relations company Edelman, surveyed 4,475 respondents between 25 and 64 in 20 countries. The 30-minute interviews were conducted in November and December of 2008, concurrent with a worldwide economic downturn that soured public trust in business and government leaders in many countries.
Canadians institutions, however, were relatively insulated from this drop in public opinion. For example, while the percentage of U.S. respondents who said they trusted business to do what is right fell to 38% from 58% a year ago, Canadians’ trust in business fell just 4%, to 45% from 49%.
An even larger contrast appeared when respondents were asked to rate their trust in government to do what was right. Only 30% of U.S. respondents answered positively, compared to 39% in 2008. In Canada, trust in government actually increased to 51% from 39% the year before.
Canada is also one of only seven countries (of the 20 in the survey) in which government is more trusted than business, with 51% indicating trust in public officials and 45% in business leaders.
Richard Edelman, the New York-based president and CEO of Edelman, attributed the higher trust numbers in Canada in part to the fact government has traditionally played a greater role in the economy than in the U.S.
“It’s amazing how different Canada is from the U.S.,” said Edelman. “Canada has retained stability, partly because Canada’s economy hasn’t fallen off a cliff, and also because you have much better experience in relations between government and business.”
The survey also indicated that respondents’ appetite for government intervention in business is high in the wake of the economic meltdown. Globally, 65% of those surveyed agreed that government should more strictly regulate and control business activities, while only 22% disagreed. In Canada, 70% agreed while 22% disagreed.
In terms of trustworthy sources for information about businesses, Canadians ranked stock or industry analyst reports highest (52%), followed by articles in business magazines (50%), conversations with friends and peers (42%) and conversations with company employees (41%). Only 28% trusted corporate communications initiatives such as press releases, while company websites (15%), corporate or product advertising (9%) and social networking sites (9%) ranked lowest on the source list.
