Half of Canadians polled in a new Angus Reid survey say that back to normal won’t happen until 2022, if ever. At one time, 2021 was the benchmark for an end to the pandemic for many Canadians, however, the new polling by non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds Canadians are lengthening their timelines and bracing for another tough year to come. Just one in five, or 21% expect this year to be good or great.

In some of the other key findings Canadians continue to disagree about the proper level of restrictions for their province. 37 per cent say they don’t go far enough, 35 per cent say it is about right and 28 per cent say its too strict. Younger men, aged 18 to 34, at 20 per cent, are more likely to say this past year was the worst of their lives. A similar outcome was also found with those with lower incomes.

And anxiety over the transmissibility of COVID-19 remains very high with 84 per cent of Canadians worried a friend or family member could get sick with the virus.