Every week during this tumultuous period, we conduct a survey of Canadians and Americans to explore their views on the economy and their finances.
Highlights include…
REACTION TO THE CARNEY–TRUMP MEETING
Awareness of the May 6 meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump is high among Canadians: 80% say they’ve heard about it. However, views are divided on its impact : 24% think it will improve Canada–U.S. relations, 40% believe it will have no real effect, and 13% think it will worsen them. Nearly half (48%) feel Carney clearly stood up for Canada’s interests, while 24% say he should have taken a stronger stance.
PERCEPTIONS OF PRICE INCREASES
In Canada, 75% of respondents believe consumer prices have increased in recent weeks. In the U.S., 69% feel the same (4-point decrease since last week), with noticeable partisan gaps: 87% of Democrats versus 54% of Republicans perceive a price increase.
PERCEPTIONS OF ECONOMIC RECESSION
The share of Americans who believe the U.S. is currently in a recession has declined to 47%, down 5 points from the previous week, with higher agreement among Republicans (66%) than Democrats (46%).
Methodology
This web survey on the economy was conducted from May 9 to 11, 2025, with 1,578 Canadians and 1,012 U.S. residents, 18 years of age or older, randomly recruited from LEO’s online panel.
A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size yields a margin of error no greater than ±2.47%, (19 times out of 20) for the Canadian sample and ±3.08%, (19 times out of 20) for the American sample.
