A national survey points to support for pressing ahead on infrastructure and trade reforms, while Conservative voters are divided over seeking a fresh mandate.
The Canadian
Newsroom
October 17, 2026
3 min read
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s proposed economic changes have substantial support without another federal election, according to a Canada Pulse Insights survey reported by CityNews on October 17. The poll found that 73 per cent of respondents wanted him to proceed rather than seek a fresh mandate. The finding comes as Canada continues to face a trade conflict with the United States, giving the debate over domestic economic policy an immediate international backdrop.
The policy choices presented in the survey covered fast-tracking infrastructure, easing certain environmental reviews, changing labour strike rules and developing closer economic ties with Europe. They span several distinct areas of government responsibility. Support for proceeding with that overall agenda should not be read as a separate approval rating for every measure, or as evidence that the changes have already been implemented. The reported result concerns whether Carney should move ahead without calling an election.
Support for proceeding was above 60 per cent in every region reported by CityNews. It reached 83 per cent in British Columbia and 77 per cent in Quebec, followed by 73 per cent in Atlantic Canada and 71 per cent in Ontario. Saskatchewan and Manitoba, grouped together in the report, stood at 67 per cent; Alberta recorded 65 per cent. Those figures suggest the preference is not confined to one part of the country, although the regional differences remain important.
The political divide is sharper among Conservative voters. In that group, 53 per cent favoured an election to authorize changes they considered substantial, while 47 per cent wanted Carney to proceed. Across the full sample, just over a quarter preferred a new election. A separate voting-intention question put the Liberals at 46 per cent and the Conservatives at 34 per cent nationally, with the NDP at nine, the Bloc Québécois at six and the Greens at three. CityNews also reported that one in 10 eligible voters was undecided. These are survey findings, not an election result or a forecast of seats.
The survey involved 1,531 Canadian adults on an online panel, with responses collected October 1–8. Its publication on October 17 therefore does not make it a measurement of events from the past few days. CityNews reported a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20; that is the figure given in the source report, not an independent assessment of the panel’s methodology. The immediate political signal is a preference for action without another campaign. Whether particular reforms deliver results, and how Parliament handles them, remain questions that a poll cannot settle.
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