TORONTO — The Covid-19 pandemic has fueled Canadians’ trust in doctors and scientists, in conjunction with a surge in their appetite for fact-based news and information.

But employers and politicians? Not so much. Those two groups have lost such serious ground with their compatriots over the last year that they are now among Canada’s least trusted sources of information, according to Proof Strategies’ 2021 CanTrust Index.

“Canadians are telling us very clearly who they trust to get us through the pandemic, and the advice they want comes from labs not legislatures and medicine not management,” said Bruce MacLellan, Proof’s president & CEO.

The agency’s January survey of 1,517 Canadians found 85% of respondents believe it is very or extremely important that their country’s citizens have access to fact-based journalism. When it comes to advice, they want it to hear it from the experts.

The study found the most trusted sources of “reliable information” are doctors (81%), scientists (77%) family and friends (64%), and educators (62%). Those numbers plummet, however, when it comes to business executives, who are trusted by just 24% of respondents and politicians, who only 18% trust.

In addition, Canada’s employers are close to failing when it comes to building trust with employees during the pandemic. Respondents gave their bosses a “D” grade in January 2021, down from C- the year before. Frontline service workers have dropped the grade of their employers from C- to D-.

Trust in large corporations remains very low at 27%, while trust in management is at 28% and trust in boards of directors is 26%.

“The dismally poor representation of gender and diversity on Canada’s boards is certainly undermining trust. When people don’t see themselves reflected, they can’t trust their interests are considered,” said MacLellan.

Respondents said having similar values (67%), a focus on employee safety and wellbeing (67%) and leaders that communicate openly (63%) would boost their trust in companies, as would organizations advocating for positive social change (58%) and being committed to DE&I (57%).

For reliable information about Covid-19, 63% of respondents trust Canada’s chief medical officer of health, 61% trust their provincial health officer and 59% trust the World Health Organization. 46% said they trust journalists for information on the topic; Only 24% trust CEOs.

“Our research indicates that lower income and younger Canadians in particular have the most significant levels of vaccine hesitancy,” said Proof executive VP Vanessa Eaton. “In order to achieve optimal vaccination levels, we need to better understand their concerns so we can better address them.  A communication strategy, grounded in medical expertise and fact sharing, is needed to help increase trust and build a bridge from where we are today to where we need to be in months from now.”

Key findings also include:

  • Trust in Canada’s major institutions is falling in the West and stable in the East.

  • Trust in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is now at 32%, down from 39% a year ago.

  • 59% of Canadians believe individual citizens have the greatest responsibility to address racism and inequity, followed by the federal (58%) and provincial (57%) governments.

  • Facebook remains one of the least trusted companies at 24%, compared to Shoppers Drug Mart as one of the most trusted at 56%.

  • Canadians are divided about how the pandemic has made them feel toward fellow citizens, with 31% saying they feel more together and united, 44% saying they feel no difference and 26% saying they feel less together and united.