Empirical Intelligence conducted a representative survey of 1,001 Canadians nationwide on November 5-6, 2025. We asked questions about politics, business, technology, health, and education. This article presents some of the main results.

The Federal Budget

We asked Canadians whether they had heard anything about the federal budget. A majority said yes.

Table 1: Awareness of Federal Budget
Heard of BudgetPercentage
Yes55.6%
No37.6%
Don't know6.8%

Question: Many Canadians didn't notice, but the federal government presented a budget on Tuesday. Have you heard anything about it?


We asked respondents who said yes whether they thought it reflects an entirely new approach that will have a “generational impact” or whether it is similar to the budgets we’ve seen in recent years. Most Canadians agreed with the federal government that the budget will have a “generational impact”.

Table 2: Preferred Description of Budget
Description of BudgetPercentage
It reflects an entirely new approach that will have a generational impact52.4%
It is similar to the budgets we've seen in recent years33.4%
Don't know14.2%

Question: Which of the following best describes the federal budget introduced on Tuesday?


Artificial Intelligence

We asked Canadians whether they would be more likely or less likely to buy a product or service from a company after finding out that they use AI. Most people said it would make no difference. Just over a quarter said they would be less likely to buy from a company after finding out that they use AI.

Table 3: Change in Likelihood to Buy from Company that Uses AI
Likelihood to buyPercentage
More likely to buy7.3%
Neither more nor less likely to buy58.2%
Less likely to buy26.4%
Don't know8.1%

Question: Would you be more or less likely to buy a product or service from a company after finding out that they use Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Trade

We asked Canadians whether they plan to spend more money or less money than now on products from a variety of countries and regions. Most Canadians want to buy more from Canada and less from the United States. They are more open to imports from Europe than from anywhere else we asked about.

Table 4: Plans to Spend on Products from Different Countries and World Regions
More than nowThe same as nowLess than now
Canada55.1%38.5%6.4%
United States6.3%31.8%61.9%
Europe14.5%68.5%17.0%
Asia11.2%66.4%22.4%
Latin America7.8%70.2%22.0%

Question: In the next year, do you plan to spend more money, less money or the same amount of money as now on products from the following countries and regions?

Education

We asked Canadians how useful they think Canadian universities are to their graduates. The following table shows results for all Canadians, for university graduates, and for Canadians who have not graduated from university. Large majorities in each group say that universities are at least moderately useful. More university graduates (83.5%) than non-graduates (71.5%) think universities are at least moderately useful.

Table 5: Usefulness of Canadian Universities to Graduates
All CanadiansUniversity GraduatesNo University Degree
Extremely useful15.2%16.8%14.6%
Very useful28.9%33.8%27.0%
Moderately useful30.7%32.9%29.9%
Not very useful10.4%10.7%10.3%
Not at all useful4.1%3.2%4.4%
Don't know10.6%2.5%13.7%

Question: How useful do you think Canadian universities are to their graduates?

Health

We asked Canadians which of the vaccines against seasonal illnesses they have already received or they plan to receive this fall. Over two out of five Canadians have received or plan to receive the Covid-19 and/or flu vaccines. Slightly more Canadians have received (46.0%) or plan to receive the flu vaccine than the Covid-19 vaccine (42.5%).

Vaccines Canadians Have Received or Plan to Receive
VaccinePercentage
Covid-19 vaccine42.5%
Flu (influenza) vaccine46.0%
None of the above36.7%
Don't know5.8%

Question: Which of the following vaccines have you received or do you plan to receive this fall? Select all that apply.

Methodology

The survey was run online on November 5-6, 2025. Respondents were recruited from a variety of online panels using Cint Exchange. Results are weighted using age, gender, education, and region census benchmarks. If the results were from a probability sample, the margin of error would be 3.1. Interviews were in English and French.