Seven in 10 Canadians say their tax burden reduces their standard of living, while two-thirds say corporate subsidies yield poor results compared to their cost, according to a new poll.
Canadians were divided over whether they receive good value for the taxes they pay, with no level of government earning majority approval. Provincial governments received the lowest rating, with 56 percent of respondents saying they do not get their money’s worth.
A slight majority of respondents (52 percent) say the federal government spends too much, compared with just five percent who say it spends too little.
“Canadians are sending the message that they’ve had enough of paying more to receive less,” MEI Vice President of Communications Renaud Brossard said. “As grocery and housing prices keep climbing higher and higher, taxpayers are fed up with seeing their governments spending so recklessly.”
Broken down by region, Quebec had the largest percentage who said government spending is too high, at 56 percent, followed by the Western provinces at 53 percent, and Ontario at 51 percent. The Atlantic provinces had the lowest percentage, at 34 percent.
However, the Canadians who said they pay too much income tax (63 percent) is down—falling from 67 percent in 2025, and 72 percent in 2024. The percentage that said income taxes are too low stayed relatively stable over the past few years, hovering at around 1–2 percent.
Meanwhile, on the issue of satisfaction over government spending transparency, Canadians were much more divided, with those satisfied at 43 percent overall and those dissatisfied at 48 percent.
More respondents said that the government is allocating funding effectively—36 percent, compared with 32 percent in 2025 and 18 percent in 2024—but half of respondents still say that allocation does not address important issues.
The poll indicated that respondents perceive better value from federal taxes (48 percent) than from provincial taxes (37 percent).
Subsidies
Canadians were also critical of taxes that go to corporate subsidies, with 66 percent saying they are expensive and yield poor results. The share rose to 69 percent among Quebec respondents.
Another 59 percent said a high tax rate can lead wealthy individuals to move to lower-tax jurisdictions.
The findings come as governments continue to pledge billions of dollars for industrial subsidy programs. The MEI noted that Quebec and Ontario provided $8.5 billion and $11.6 billion, respectively, in corporate subsidies in 2024.
The survey also found that 58 per cent of Canadians oppose the federal government’s proposal to borrow $25 billion to establish a sovereign wealth fund, while 20 percent support the plan.
“Canadians do not share the enthusiasm of their politicians when it comes to subsidies,” Brossard said.
“Canadians don’t want more subsidies and they don’t want more spending; what they want is a government that respects their ability to pay.”
The Ipsos poll surveyed 1,005 Canadian adults online between June 26 and July 1. The results have a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
