According to a recently released global “trust” index, the majority of Canadians believe that legacy media journalists and government officials are not trustworthy and are “lying to them” regularly.
The findings come from the “2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Canada Report,” which is a yearly report from the Edelman Trust Institute, which is a research initiative by global communications firm Edelman.
Respondents were asked if they felt that “establishment leaders were lying to them.” A total of 55 percent of Canadians replied that yes, they felt that legacy media, and by extension journalists, were lying to them by misleading or falsely reporting the truth.
In 2023, 50 percent of Canadians felt distrust in legacy media, which is heavily subsidized by the Canadian government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
About 1,500 Canadians from coast to coast were interviewed about their views on a host of issues relating to trust in the media as well as people’s thoughts about politicians.
When it comes to government leaders, such as Trudeau and his cabinet, approximately 60 percent of Canadians believe that officials are misleading the citizens whom they are supposed to represent.
“In a year marked by natural events and geopolitical crises, Canadians maintained neutral trust towards institutions in general,” the researchers wrote. “However, significant increases in the belief that business and government leaders are purposely trying to mislead people could degrade our neutral position.”
“When it comes to innovation, concerns about governments’ inability to effectively regulate innovations as well as the fear that science has become politicized is putting innovation at risk.”
Job losses and inflation were cited as being attributed to the decline in trust of media and government.
The study found that Canadians trust their peers most (77 percent), with scientists getting a 74 percent trust rating and journalists coming in at 50 percent.
Overall, 48 percent of Canadians resorted to doing their own online research compared with going to the legacy media (47 percent) for news and information.
Canada’s overall so-called “trust” ranking declined for 2024, from 53 to 52, with the global average at 55. The higher the number, the better the “trust” ranking. For comparison, the United States scored a “trust” rating of 42 for 2024. Canada was beaten out by Mexico, who scored a trust rating of 61.
Edelman bills itself as a firm that “partners with businesses and organizations to evolve, promote, and protect their brands and reputation.”
“The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals a new paradox at the heart of society: rapid innovation which offers the promise of a new era of prosperity is exacerbating trust issues, leading to further societal instability and political polarization,” the company states.
Canada’s legacy media heavily subsidized by the feds
As per its 2020-2021 annual report, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) receives about $1.24 billion in public funding every year, which is about 70 percent of its revenue. Trudeau has recently claimed that Canada must continue its subsidies of the CBC to “protect our democracy.”
Indeed, he recently announced more large payouts for legacy media outlets ahead of the 2025 federal election. In total, the subsidies are expected to cost taxpayers $129 million over the next five years.
When it comes to Canadians’ distrust in legacy media, Trudeau earlier this year claimed that this is because of “conspiracy theorists” along with those who are social media influencers.
The reality is that when it comes to the CBC, its own watchdog has criticized how it has reported the news.
Last October, LifeSiteNews reported that CBC ombudsman Jack Nagler said in a recent notice titled Theory or Conspiracy Theory? the network must stop acting as a political fact-checker after a report it published that negatively criticized the Freedom Convoy and so-called “far right” media received massive backlash.
Last May, LifeSiteNews reported that a former CBC journalist revealed that reporters were stopped from covering stories critical of COVID jabs and lockdowns and were instead encouraged to push government “propaganda.”