Abacus Data Poll: What do Canadians want discussed at the Leaders’ Debates?
April 11, 2025
As Canadians prepare to tune into the federal Leaders’ Debates next week—April 16 in French and April 17 in English—new data from Abacus Data finds they are coming with a clear set of expectations about what the leaders should talk about.
We asked 1,800 Canadians surveyed from April 7 to 10, 2025 to choose up to five issues they believe should be discussed in the debates. At the top of the list? Dealing with Donald Trump and his administration (68%), housing affordability and availability (65%), healthcare and access to services (64%), and jobs and the economy (63%). These four issues dominate the public’s mind and form a core agenda that spans demographics and partisanship, though notable differences emerge beneath the surface.
Trump, housing, healthcare, and jobs lead—but not for everyone
The single most commonly selected issue was how Canada should deal with Donald Trump and his administration. With Trump looming large over the election and Canada’s economy so tightly linked to his tariff threats, nearly 7 in 10 Canadians want to see the party leaders explain how they would manage that relationship. The desire to see this discussed was particularly high among older Canadians—81% of those 60+ chose this, compared to just 57% of those aged 18 to 29.
Housing affordability ranked second overall, especially resonant among younger Canadians. It was selected by 71% of those aged 18 to 29 (their top issue), compared to 63% of those over 60. It was also the top issue for NDP (75%) and Bloc Québécois (67%) voters. Conservatives (67%) and Liberals (64%) were close behind, suggesting strong cross-partisan concern about the housing crisis.
Healthcare and access to services (64%) was a higher priority for women (70%) than men (58%), and most popular among older Canadians (77% among those 60+), making it a top issue for that age group just behind Trump. Supporters of the Liberal Party (68%), NDP (71%), and Bloc (71%) were especially likely to want healthcare discussed, compared to 58% of Conservative supporters.
Jobs and the economy rounded out the top four, with similar levels of support across gender and age, though Conservative voters (69%) were most likely to select it.
Other issues: immigration, national defence, climate change divide voters
Immigration and population growth (43%) was selected more by older Canadians and Conservative voters (55%) than others. National defence and security (36%) was also more top of mind for men (41%) than women (31%).
Climate change and the environment (28%) was one of the most polarized issues. While just 16% of Conservative supporters selected it, 37% of Liberals, NDP, and Green supporters did. Among Canadians aged 18 to 29, 36% selected it—more than any other age group.
Indigenous reconciliation (10%) and “something else” (5%) ranked lowest overall, though younger Canadians were twice as likely to mention reconciliation than those over 60.
Methodology
The survey was conducted with 1,800 adult Canadians over the age of 18 from April 7 to 10, 2025. A random sample of panelists were invited to complete the survey from a set of partner panels based on the Lucid exchange platform. These partners are typically double opt-in survey panels, blended to manage out potential skews in the data from a single source.
The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.3%, 19 times out of 20.
The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that the sample matched Canada’s population according to age, gender, educational attainment, and region. Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
This survey was paid for by Abacus Data Inc.
Abacus Data follows the CRIC Public Opinion Research Standards and Disclosure Requirements that can be found here: https://canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca/standards/
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