Majority favours more socially-focused metrics of how well Canada is doing – and it’s a global opinion
Canadians would rather the country’s success was measured in ways other than money according to a new survey.
Three quarters of respondents to a poll by GlobeScan said they want to move away from money-based GDP to steer national progress by including data on health, education, and the environment.
The strategy consultancy asked more than 27,000 people from 11 countries for their views and, at a country level, all shared the Canadian view.
Across all countries included in the poll, the average of still favouring money-based GDP was just 28% including 25% among Canadian respondents.
GlobeScan-Ethical Markets surveys have been running since 2007 and a related scorecard shows that between 2009 and 2020 there has been a cumulative $10.3 trillion of private investments in green sectors worldwide.
The increase in the share of those wanting a broader-based measure of national success is likely driven by this year’s challenges from the pandemic.
“There will clearly be significant societal implications on the back end of the pandemic, leading to further examination around how to best measure and value economies across the world. People want a more holistic approach to how we measure progress in our countries,” said Chris Coulter, CEO of GlobeScan.
Majorities across 11 countries say health, social, and environmental statistics are as important as economic ones and governments should also use these for measuring national progress.
— GlobeScan (@GlobeScan) July 30, 2020
Learn more in our new global survey w/ @ethicalmarkets: https://t.co/2YiUviXq6N
