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The Canadian population seems positively united in it's evaluation of the current structure and focus of post-secondary institutions. A study commissioned by Universities Canada found that roughly two-thirds of Canadians interviewed regard Canadian universities as friendly (77% of respondents), completing valuable research (77%), being practical (73%), having a bright future (71%), being open-minded (68%), and dynamic (67%). The only category – as per this study – which could be regarded as potentially low was that a slight majority (52%) of respondents believed Canadian universities are inadequately funded.
Figure 1: How Canadians See Canada's Universities
With the Canadian public having more confidence in post-secondary institutions and the young population they consist of, as a result, the Canadian public also feels more favourable towards the future of Canada’s economy and talents of Canada’s younger generations. From 2015 to 2017, the proportion of Canadians who strongly agree the future of Canadian economy is bright has increased from 12% to 20%; while the proportion of Canadians who have great confidence in the talent of younger Canadian generations has increased from 19 to 28% during that same time period.
Figure 2: The Future Of The Economy For Canada Looks Bright
Figure 3: I Have Great Confidence In The Talents of Canada's Younger Generations
Despite positive views towards Canadian universities as a whole, many respondents of this same study believe that university research can be enhanced. Specifically, 94% of respondents support (53%) or strongly support (41%) collaboration between Canadian universities and other global schools; as these projects are important because research often is better when coordinated on a global scale. Furthermore, 94% of respondents also support (50%) or strongly support (44%) that Canadian universities need to better attract leading researchers in their individual fields to our national universities, in order to enhance university research. Lastly, 92% of respondents support (50%) or strongly support (42%) that Canadian universities need to increase research funding in order to be competitive with top global research universities.
