by Richard Jenkins | Apr 22, 2013 | Public Opinion, Public Policy
The impression one gets from a casual following of economic news is that Canada is doing well but not outstanding. There are concerns about Europe and the U.S. but these seem divorced from the day-to-day lives of most Canadians. Nevertheless, consumer confidence has...
by Richard Jenkins | Jul 19, 2012 | Consumer and brand behaviour, Public Opinion
There are no shortage of real world indicators of economic performance of an economy and its implications for everyday citizens but sometimes a public opinion measure offers us a clear alternative to hard economic stats. Since 2004, consumer sentiment about the...
by Richard Jenkins | Aug 19, 2011 | Public Opinion
In 2004, TNS Canada produced its first Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) and it is interesting that its recent results mirror those from its first surveys. What, if anything, can this tell us about the state of the economy? Canadians, while deeply affected by the...
by Richard Jenkins | Sep 29, 2010 | Consumer and brand behaviour, Public Policy
Why do economic forecasts require so much adjustment if they are based on reliable economic models? Last week, for example, the release of Statistics Canada figures for July showed a decline in consumer spending that fuelled speculation that the recovery in Canada may...
by Richard Jenkins | Apr 28, 2010 | Public Policy
Yesterday, the Conference Board of Canada issued a news release indicating that confidence in Canada “took a dive in April”. This counters somewhat the findings from the most recent TNS poll which shows confidence at its highest level since April 2008. Survey timing,...