Media, Trust, and Political Identity
For years, Canada’s political class has debated whether the public still trusts the news media. Pollara’s fourth annual Trust in Media survey suggests the answer is more complicated than critics or defenders of the media might like to admit.
The survey finds that a slim majority of Canadians continue to trust the news media. 51 per cent say they generally trust the news, while 35 per cent say they do not. That leaves Canadian media with a positive net trust rating of +16, considerably greater than comparable American polling (45 per cent) and an improvement over Pollara’s own findings in 2022 and 1992.
At first glance, that would appear encouraging for Canada’s established media organizations. Looking deeper, however, and a different picture begins to emerge.
Trust is increasingly becoming fragmented by age, political affiliation, and geography. Canadians are not abandoning news altogether; they are choosing different sources, trusting different institutions, and consuming information through entirely different platforms. Those shifts are beginning to reshape Canadian politics.
One of the most striking findings in the survey isn’t about media organizations at all. It’s about voters.
Pollara found a remarkable 54-point gap in media trust between Liberal and Conservative supporters. Liberal voters recorded a net trust score of +40 toward the news media, while Conservative voters registered a -14. This represents a dramatic widening from the political divisions Pollara identified between Liberal and Reform Party voters in the early 1990s.
The partisan divide becomes even more pronounced when individual news organizations are examined.
CBC enjoys a net trust score of +78 among Liberal voters, but only a +9 among Conservatives. CTV News sits at +71 among Liberal voters compared to +30 among Conservatives, while Global News records a +68 and +28, respectively.
Alberta Remains Different
If political affiliation explains one aspect of Canada’s media landscape, geography explains another. Alberta continues to stand apart from much of the country.
While 73 per cent of Canadians consume CBC content, only 67 per cent of Albertans do. By contrast, Global News reaches 78 per cent of Albertans compared with 62 per cent nationally, while CTV News reached 75 per cent of Albertans compared with 67 per cent across Canada.
Trust follows a similar pattern. Nationally, 71 per cent of Canadians describe CBC as trustworthy. In Alberta, that figure falls to 63 per cent.
Those differences are hardly surprising after years of debate surrounding equalization, federal energy policy, and repeated criticism of CBC from conservative politicians. They also demonstrate that Alberta’s political conversation is shaped by a somewhat different media ecosystem than much of the country.
Importantly, however, Albertans have not abandoned mainstream journalism. Commercial broadcasters continue to dominate news consumption in the province, suggesting Alberta remains firmly connected to traditional media even as its preferences measurably differ from national averages.
“Alternative Media” Is Growing
One of the survey’s notable findings concerns alternative media. Rebel News has steadily expanded its audience over the past several years. According to Pollara, 22 per cent of Canadians now consume Rebel News either regularly or occasionally, including 8 per cent who say they watch it most days. Among Canadians aged 18 to 34, daily consumption rises to 14 per cent.
Those numbers remain well below the reach of Canada’s largest television networks, but they illustrate that alternative media can’t be dismissed as politically insignificant.
Trust remains considerably more polarized. Rebel News records a positive net trust score among Conservative voters (+13) compared with -3 among Liberal voters and -7 among NDP voters. Even so, it’s standing among Conservatives remains below mainstream outlets like CTV News, The Globe and Mail, Global News, and the BBC.
The Generational Shift
While partisan differences dominate political debates today, the survey suggests age may ultimately prove even more consequential.
Among Canadians aged 65 and older, television remains the primary source of news for three-quarters of respondents. For Canadians between 18 and 34, that figure falls to just 31 per cent.
Instead, 71 per cent of younger Canadians now identify social media as one of their principal news sources. YouTube leads the way, followed by Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and X. This may prove to be the survey’s most significant long-term finding.
Canada’s major broadcasters continue to enjoy high trust ratings. The Weather Network ranks as Canada’s most trusted news source for the fourth consecutive year, followed by CBC, CTV News, and Global News. Yet younger Canadians increasingly encounter news through social media platforms rather than broadcasters themselves.
The challenge facing legacy media is larger than just maintaining credibility. It’s ensuring that credibility travels with audiences as they migrate towards new platforms.
Political Communication is Changing
These findings help explain many of the communications strategies now employed by governments and political leaders.
Politicians can bypass traditional media through podcasts, YouTube videos, livestreams, and social media because younger audiences are already consuming information that way.
Traditional television interviews remain enormously valuable, particularly among older voters who continue to participate in elections at the highest rate. For now, successful campaigns must operate in both worlds simultaneously.
That reality has become especially evident in Alberta. Premier Danielle Smith routinely speaks to traditional broadcasters while also appearing on podcasts and alternative media platforms that reach politically engaged conservative audiences. Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who campaigned on defunding CBC, has similarly invested time in alternative media communications while continuing to pursue mainstream television coverage.
What Comes Next?
The Pollara survey offers reassurance for Canada's established media organizations. Claims of journalism's complete collapse appear exaggerated. Most Canadians continue to consume mainstream news and continue to express overall trust in it.
At the same time, the survey reveals important structural changes beneath the surface.
Media trust is increasingly influenced by political identity. Regional differences remain significant. Younger Canadians are consuming news differently than previous generations. Alternative media continues to expand its reach, even if legacy organizations remain dominant.
For Alberta, these trends carry particular significance.
The province continues to occupy a distinct place within Canada's political conversation, not simply because of its policy debates, but because many Albertans are engaging with those debates through a different mix of media than the rest of the country.
As governments, political parties, businesses, and advocacy organizations prepare for another busy political season, understanding where Canadians receive their information may prove just as important as understanding the information itself.
The media landscape is not disappearing. It is fragmenting. And in politics, fragmentation often matters just as much as trust.