Canadians less stressed than Americans by pandemic: poll

Two-in-five people living in the United States report feeling very or extremely stressed because of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to only one-in-five of those living in Canada, according to a public opinion poll. Further, 46 per cent of Americans are very or extremely worried about their personal finances compared to 28 per cent of Canadians. 

The survey by the Angus Reid Institute found that just over half of people in both countries are tired of social distancing, wearing masks and other practices designed to curb the spread of the virus. Both Canadians and Americans are cautious about being in public places. One-in-three Americans are avoiding restaurants completely, compared to 40 per cent of Canadians. One-in-three in each country take extra precautions when they do eat in a restaurant.

Of the people in each country still eating in restaurants, one-third take extra precautions to avoid catching the virus. (iStock)

Half or less have confidence COVID-19 cases will be reversed

Half of Canadians (52 per cent) say they have confidence that their country will reverse the rising case numbers while 42 per cent of Americans express the same confidence. As to the efforts their neighbours are making to curb the spread, seven-in-ten Canadians think people in their community are doing a good job, while only 49 per cent of Americans say the same.

Two-in-five Americans (42 per cent) say the risk of this pandemic is overblown. One-quarter of Canadians (26 per cent) agree. Those who lean conservative politically in both countries are far more likely to believe this than are others. 

Several Canadian provinces are considering and implementing more restrictions as cases of COVID-19 increase. More than 3,000 new cases were reported in Canada on October 30, 2020 while in the U.S. on that day there were 101,000 cases recorded. Canada has had more than 10,000 deaths compared to more than 236,000 in the U.S. Canada has a population of 37.5 million people compared to the 328 million in the United States.