Canadians’ trust in government, business, media and NGOs is down despite rising stock markets and low unemployment numbers, revealed the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer released Feb. 19.
More than three quarters of Canadian employees surveyed fear they will lose their job due to technological change, a possible recession and jobs being moved overseas, says Edelman.
Meanwhile, nearly two in three Canadians do not have confidence that the country's current leaders – CEOs and government – will successfully address the country's challenges, indicated the Barometer.Only one in three survey respondents said they believe their families will be better off in five years, and sixty-two per cent said they feel the pace of change in technology is moving too fast.
The battle for trust
"The characteristics that made for a trusted institution in the past are not the ones that make a trusted institution today," observes Lisa Kimmel, president and CEO, Edelman Canada and Latin America. "Canadians want leaders of institutions to look beyond shareholders to consider stakeholders like employees. Ultimately, the battle for trust hinges on integrity, dependability and purpose. Institutions must demonstrate an ability not only to perform competently but also to do so ethically, by taking concrete action to tackle the right issues, in the right way."
