Canadians Among Most Optimistic Globally About Economy: Report

(CBC News)

Amid pervasive doom and gloom about the global economic crisis, Canadians are among the most optimistic worldwide when it comes to their financial futures, according to a report released Wednesday.

Not unlike people elsewhere, Canadians have deep concerns about the economy and lowered consumer confidence, but they tend to have a rosier view of the future, Tony Coulson, vice-president of Environics Research Group in Ottawa, told the CBC in an interview.

“It’s sort of a glass half-full mentality,” Coulson said. “It says, ‘This is a recession in the stock market rather than on the streets for Canadians,’ so they’re not feeling the pinch as much and are looking forward to better times ahead.”

By comparison, Ireland appears to have a glass half-empty perspective, the Environics study found. “Ireland is definitely the country where there’s the most worry about the economy and the least optimism about the timing of the recovery,” Coulson said. Read more here.