{"id":268180,"date":"2020-04-21T10:32:44","date_gmt":"2020-04-21T14:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/issues\/covid-19-has-improved-canadians-relationship-with-government\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T22:57:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T02:57:21","slug":"covid-19-has-improved-canadians-relationship-with-government","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/04\/covid-19-has-improved-canadians-relationship-with-government\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 has improved Canadians\u2019 relationship with government"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dropcap-big\">While Canadians may be isolated and socially distanced from one another during the COVID-19 pandemic, this shared experience has strengthened our relationships with our families, co-workers, employers, healthcare providers, local businesses \u2013 and even our governments (figure 1).<\/p>\n<p>These are the results of the latest edition of the Argyle Public Relationships Index\u2122, a national L\u00e9ger survey that reveals insights about the psychological impact of this complex public health, social and economic crisis on the myriad relationships in Canadians\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Relationships with governments: A stunning turnaround<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The improvement in our perceived relationships with our governments during the pandemic is dramatic:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>55 percent of respondents report improvement in their relationships with their <strong>provincial governments<\/strong>, more than three times the number (18 percent) reporting a decline (figure 2).<\/li>\n<li>46 percent cite improved relationships with Canada\u2019s <strong>federal government<\/strong>, with just 26 percent citing a decline (figure 3).<\/li>\n<li>41 percent say they have improved relationships with their <strong>municipal governments<\/strong>, more than double the number (20 percent) reporting a decline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While history is full of examples of societies coming together in times of crisis \u2013 with goodwill often dissipating after the danger has passed \u2013 the data nonetheless reflect a stunning reversal in recent attitudes toward our leaders. This also contrasts sharply with the loud and widespread criticism of governments in social media during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p><strong>All governments are not relating equally<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Of course, this is Canada \u2013 and so views vary greatly across the nation. Quebec\u2019s Fran\u00e7ois Legault has achieved something remarkable: 74 percent of Quebecers believe their relationship with his government have improved during the crisis \u2014 <em>more than 10 times<\/em> the number (7 percent) who feel the relationship has soured.<\/p>\n<p>At the other end of the spectrum is Alberta\u2019s government, which has improved its relationships with 44 percent of its citizens, but harmed its relationships with 32 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Justin Trudeau\u2019s federal government is somewhere in the middle. While It has made gains with Canadians everywhere, the spectrum of opinion is wide \u2014 with bigger improvements in Atlantic Canada, Ontario and BC, modest gains in the Prairie provinces, and a smaller improvement in Quebec.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Three lessons for leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Our research contains several lessons for leaders.<\/p>\n<p>First, relationship capital is a leader\u2019s most valuable asset. It must be managed and measured.<\/p>\n<p>Relationships matter \u2013 and they matter most in a crisis. More complex and enduring than satisfaction or approval ratings, a relationship is bi-directional. It combines rational assessments of competence and satisfaction with emotional dimensions such as empathy, affinity, influence and trust.<\/p>\n<p>Second, relationships influence behaviour.<\/p>\n<p>At times of crisis, Canadians look to governments and their leaders as sources of information, services, direction and reassurance. The first two are transactional; we may receive information, but will we believe it, and act on it? Will we follow directions, even when they are difficult to enforce?<\/p>\n<p>The point is clear, as <a href=\"https:\/\/argylepr.com\/canadians-local-governments-a-relationship-opportunity\/\">our research has shown in the past<\/a>: the stronger the relationship, the more likely people are to <em>believe<\/em> their leaders, <em>engage <\/em>with them, and <em>comply<\/em> with their instructions. Arguably, nothing is more important to keep people safe, and to bring the crisis to an end faster.<\/p>\n<p>Third, what leaders say and do in a crisis \u2013 and how they say and do it \u2013 builds relationships.<\/p>\n<p>Consider the governments that led in our survey, and those that lagged. As I argued in a <a href=\"https:\/\/argylepr.com\/communicating-with-confidence-when-you-feel-anything-but\/\">March 27 post about crisis leadership<\/a>, leaders must show openness, competence, fairness, and empathy.<\/p>\n<p>Lucien Bouchard, a former Quebec premier, is one of many who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/opinion\/article-francois-legault-provides-a-master-class-in-crisis-management\/\">has been effusive in praising the province\u2019s current leader<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cMr. Legault has, with reason, earned the confidence of Quebeckers. And it\u2019s not because he\u2019s delivering good news. But he respects Quebeckers, tells them the truth and communicates his confidence to us \u2026 He has entered into a dialogue and involves the population in managing the crisis.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>While some leaders (including Mr. Trudeau, briefly) have taken a hectoring, scolding tone, the most successful ones have displayed calm, confidence and even flashes of humour under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>Relationship success does not just come from what leaders say; it\u2019s built from what they do.<\/p>\n<p>Consider the recent actions of the two best-known conservative premiers. Last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6766469\/kenney-alberta-education-cuts-covid-19-coronavirus\/\">Alberta Premier Jason Kenney justified temporary layoffs<\/a> of more than 20,000 education support workers on fiscal grounds: <em>\u201cThe concept of paying for folks who aren\u2019t working is very difficult with the billions of additional dollars we\u2019re spending and the revenue floor falling out from underneath us.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Faced with a similar choice about public sector layoffs, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flare.com\/news\/doug-ford-coronavirus-covid-19-ontario\/\">Ontario Premier Doug Ford took a distinctly human tack<\/a>: <em>\u201cI gotta protect anyone who is not working, they have mortgages to pay, rent to pay. I\u2019m not comfortable with laying provincial frontline people off.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Values and actions must go together. Leaders who understand this will earn the relationships they need \u2013 and that we need them to have \u2013 to get through the crisis. And they just might bring us all closer together.<\/p>\n<p><em>About the study: This edition of the Argyle Public Relationships Index\u2122 is based on a survey of 1,590 Canadians, completed between March 27-30, 2020, using L\u00e9ger\u2019s online panel, LEO. The margin of error for the study was +\/-2.5 percent, 19 times out of 20. L\u00e9ger\u2019s online panel has approximately 400,000 members nationally and has a retention rate of 90 percent.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>This article is part of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/magazines\/march-2020\/la-pandemie-de-coronavirus-la-reponse-du-canada\/\">The Coronavirus Pandemic: Canada\u2019s Response<\/a><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span>special feature.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Photo: Shutterstock, by Lightspring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While Canadians may be isolated and socially distanced from one another during the COVID-19 pandemic, this shared experience has strengthened our relationships with our families, co-workers, employers, healthcare providers, local businesses \u2013 and even our governments (figure 1). These are the results of the latest edition of the Argyle Public Relationships Index\u2122, a national L\u00e9ger [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":277309,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-10-08T02:57:24Z","apple_news_api_id":"077f06f8-7bb4-4806-a524-32c6bf2f0f45","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-10-08T02:57:24Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AB38G-Hu0SAalJDLGvy8PRQ","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[9358,9372,9377],"tags":[9133],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[4295,4286],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[],"class_list":["post-268180","issues","type-issues","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politique","category-recent-stories-fr","category-sante","tag-federalisme","irpp-category-politique","irpp-category-sante"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>COVID-19 has improved Canadians\u2019 relationship with government<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2020\/04\/covid-19-has-improved-canadians-relationship-with-government\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COVID-19 has improved Canadians\u2019 relationship with government\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While Canadians may be isolated and socially distanced from one another during the COVID-19 pandemic, this shared experience has strengthened our relationships with our families, co-workers, employers, healthcare providers, local businesses \u2013 and even our governments (figure 1). 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