Findings of Poll #11

Click the links to access the Abridged Report and Full Report of the findings of our tenth national poll

ABOUT THE STUDY

This study was conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights with an online sample of 3,512 adult Canadians and was conducted between February 15 to 22, 2022. Results from a probability sample of this size could be considered accurate to within ±1.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Results have been weighted based on age, gender and region to be representative of the Canadian population. 

A series of research briefs that provide an in-depth, specific investigation of our polling results can be found here. Results of earlier polls are compared when applicable.  

Findings from Polls 2 to 8 are searchable on our free Data Portal — and the findings of Poll 9 are in the process of being integrated.

Additional viewing : watch the recording of our webinar presenting the Poll 11 study results, recorded March 2, 2022, by clicking the image below.

 

In our newest poll examining the impact of COVID-19 on Canadians’ mental health, Canadians appear to be less concerned than ever about COVID, but one-quarter of respondents say their mental health struggles are getting worse.

This data collection, ending February 22, 2022, represents a period where the impacts of the Omicron variant had begun to diminish, and the majority of eligible Canadians had received their COVID-19 vaccine booster.

“While we are emerging from this pandemic, we are in uncharted territory and Canadians' mental health will need addressing for some time to come. Determining who and how many individuals will require interventions so they can recover, is a critical element of determining the successful path forward”, says Akela Peoples, CEO of Mental Health Research Canada.

Dr. David Dozois, PhD, CPsych, Director of the Clinical Psychology Graduate Program at Western University, and MHRC Board Member, who participated in the design of the survey, adds: “Uncertainty often contributes to anxiety, and there remains a significant amount of uncertainty about what life looks like post-pandemic. It’s encouraging to see the positive trends, but we need to continue to monitor the consequences of the pandemic on mental health and work to increase access to evidence-based care.”

Major findings include:

  • Anxiety levels have not significantly changed since December 2021, indicating that the Omicron variant and correlated lockdowns had only a marginal impact on mental health, and that this could be due to the short length of each. Despite the recent improvement, self-rated anxiety and depression levels remain higher than the beginning of the pandemic, with 23% of Canadians indicating high anxiety and 15% indicating high depression.

  • One factor of this reduction in overall anxiety is that the concern around the continued threat of COVID-19 is at an all-time low, with 59% of Canadians expressing concern. Furthermore, the negative mental health impacts of fear of catching COVID-19 have decreased to a level not seen since the pandemic began.

  • In contrast, those who are still struggling with anxiety or depression are in worse shape: many of those who are indicating high self-rated levels of anxiety and depression are also showing symptoms of moderate to severe psychological distress (45% of all respondents) through the Kessler 10 scale of psychological distress.