Gen Z was in line to inherit a strong economy with low unemployment, but that all changed about a year ago. COVID-19 has reshaped Canada’s social, political and economic landscape. Gen Z’s future is very uncertain and they hold the lowest levels of trust among Canadians, while citizens aged 75 years and older hold the highest.

Trust levels vary not only by age but affluence as well. Lower-income Canadians are far less likely than higher-income Canadians to trust. They are less likely to say that Canada is making progress when it comes to inclusion and equity, democracy and health.

These results come from the 2021 Proof Strategies CanTrust Index, one of the largest studies of trust by Canadians in leaders, sources and institutions. The survey was conducted in January 2021 and follows a year of pandemic disruption and deaths, racial inequalities coming to a boiling point and an economic recession affecting millions of workers.

While today’s news cycle is dominated by the rollout of the vaccine, research shows younger and lower-income Canadians have the most significant levels of vaccine hesitancy. While most Canadians (64 percent) say they trust the vaccine to be safe and effective, among lower-income Canadians, trust in the vaccine is significantly lower at 50 percent. Gen Z and Millennials also have lower trust 55 percent and 53 percent respectively.

Additional findings include:

·       Social media sources are extremely low (24 percent) and pulling down all news media trust scores 

·       Social media influencers and celebrities ranked the lowest when it comes to obtaining reliable information

·       Facebook remains one of the least trusted companies at 24 percent, compared to Shoppers Drug Mart as one of the most trusted at 56 percent 

·       Traditional media holds steady, while online media declines by 10 points 

·       A resounding 85 per cent of Canadians agree that it is very or extremely important for citizens to have access to fact-based journalism