Highlights by Employment Status

Ethical perceptions of political leaders in Canada continue to vary by employment status, but Mark Carney remains the highest-rated figure across all groups. Among full-time employed respondents, Carney leads with a POLIS score of 3.34, followed by Jagmeet Singh at 3.03, and Pierre Poilievre at 2.38. Carney’s appeal among working Canadians appears rooted in strong perceptions of competence, legitimacy, and procedural fairness. Singh’s performance reflects ethical warmth, especially in fairness and benevolence, while Poilievre ranks significantly lower on most values.

Among those not in paid work—including students, retirees, and caregivers—Carney scores even higher at 3.45, Singh improves slightly to 3.14, and Poilievre drops to 2.34. Carney’s strong rating here suggests widespread trust in his institutional credibility and ethical integrity. Singh’s steady improvement across groups reflects continued strength in fairness and accountability. Poilievre’s ratings remain consistently low, particularly on values like transparency and benevolence.

Part-time workers give Carney his highest POLIS score overall at 3.47, followed closely by Singh at 3.05 and Poilievre at 2.41. The high scores for both Carney and Singh suggest that these leaders are viewed as especially ethical among Canadians in less stable or more flexible employment. Poilievre performs only marginally better in this group, but still lags behind the others, especially on moral and institutional trust dimensions.

Among self-employed Canadians, Singh performs his best, scoring 3.16—slightly ahead of his ratings in other employment groups. Carney leads again at 3.30, while Poilievre receives 2.42. This suggests that Singh’s ethical values resonate particularly well with entrepreneurial or independent workers. Carney maintains dominance on institutional and technical traits, while Poilievre’s ratings remain weakest overall, though somewhat bolstered in competence.

Unemployed respondents give Carney a POLIS score of 3.19, Singh 2.88, and Poilievre 2.52—his highest score across all groups. While Carney remains the most ethically credible leader among the unemployed, Poilievre’s slight improvement may reflect perceptions of strength or responsiveness to economic concerns. Nevertheless, Carney leads across all employment statuses, Singh remains a consistent second, and Poilievre trails in every group. These findings reaffirm that ethical leadership—captured by the POLIS Index—is judged through both moral and institutional lenses, and that employment status meaningfully shapes public perceptions.