By David Opinko

Americans more stressed over COVID-19 pandemic than Canadians: study

Nov 2, 2020 | 1:05 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – There have been many negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in both Canada and the United States, but the way residents in each country feel is quite different.

A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute saw 2,679 Americans and 1,505 Canadians questioned on the impacts the pandemic has had on them.

40 per cent of respondents from the U.S. said they were either “very” or “extremely” stressed about the pandemic situation in general, while 22 per cent of Canadians said the same.

Similar differences were found when talking about stress related to finances. 46 per cent of Americans were “very” or “extremely” stressed while 28 per cent of Canadians reported the same feelings.

Those in lower-income brackets were more likely to feel higher levels of stress on both sides of the border.

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

Angus Reid, in part, attributes the differing levels of financial stress to income assistance programs offered by each country’s federal governments.

In Canada, those who were temporarily laid off due to the pandemic could receive up to 28 weeks of CERB payments at $500 per week before many were transitioned to EI. The U.S. government gave residents a one-time payment of $1,200.

While residents on each side of the border overall were equally likely to say that taking precautions like social distancing and mask-wearing has been “fatiguing” at 55 per cent, those who belonged to right-leaning political parties had these feelings to much higher degrees.

For Canada, 64 per cent of Conservative supporters felt fatigued by public health precautions while 44 per cent of Liberals and 48 per cent of Liberals said the same. In the U.S., 71 per cent of Republicans answered this way compared to 43 per cent of Democrats.

Half of Americans believed that most people are doing a good job of taking precautions. The same answer was given by 71 per cent of Canadians.

The full survey can be accessed here.