Populist approach is popular with Canadians, but not populism itself

OTTAWA — Most Canadians with a view say they don’t like the populist wave washing over much of the world, a new poll has found, even though a healthy chunk of respondents also said they support some of the same movement’s key pillars.

The poll, conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights, found that 28 per cent of respondents described themselves as either “frustrated” (10 per cent) or “angry” (18 per cent) with the concept of populist politics, while a smaller group (22 per cent) opted for the positive descriptors “excited” (four per cent) or “”comfortable” (18 per cent).

But 22 per cent of respondents said they aren’t familiar with the term, while 28 per cent said none of those words described their feelings about populism.

Many Canadians, however, are sympathetic toward some of populism’