Public Perception, Concerns, and Fears Related to Canada’s COVID Relief Programs

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Canada, the federal government rolled out a suite of financial relief programs to help Canadians through this unprecedented and difficult time. Many of these programs, such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), were designed to provide immediate support to Canadians who needed it most. Citizens perceived and reacted in variety of ways to the administration and implementation of these relief efforts. Analysis of public reaction through the analysis of citizen’s comments on social media provides an opportunity to optimize the design and communication strategies associated with future programs.

In the fall of 2020, the Canadian Ministry of Finance engaged Receptiviti in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the public perception of the CERB program.