A new INNOVATIVE poll shows that, even among those currently receiving the benefits, Canadians support the Liberal government’s decision to end the additional $2,000 a month of financial support for those unemployed or underemployed due to the COVID-19 outbreak and transition recipients to EI.
For those not following the change closely, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) provided up to four months of support for any periods between now and October 3rd, and the federal government has promised all CERB recipients will be transitioned to Employment Insurance (EI). Many CERB recipients will receive less on EI.
If you aren’t following the issue, you’re in good company: only 4-in-10 (42%) Canadians say they are following the ending of the CERB program closely.
Roughly 3-in-10 households currently benefit from CERB. Most those who receive the benefit, as well as Liberal partisans, report they are following the end of the program very or somewhat closely.
By more than a 2-1 margin, Canadians support the decision to end CERB and transition recipients to EI (43% support to 19% oppose). The more engaged someone is, the more likely they are to support it, with 58% of those following CERB transition ‘very closely’ saying they support the move.
Despite this good news for the Liberals, the change remains a risk for them. The main risk is that most people, including a large portion of people benefiting from CERB, are not paying close attention to the changes so they may not fully understand what they are actually supporting. It is also important to note that nearly a third (30%) of those on CERB oppose the change. As out-of-work Canadians start to feel the pinch from the loss of CERB and begin living on EI alone, support for the program could well decline.
While the risk is clear, for now Canadians support the change.
For detailed results, download INNOVATIVE’s full report here.
