Half of Manitobans ‘uneasy’ about returning to businesses: poll

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This article was published 23/06/2020 (2121 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Almost one-half of Manitobans are nervous about reopening the economy and returning to commercial spaces, suggests a new survey commissioned by the province’s business councils and associations.

The Probe Research poll released Monday shows two-thirds of 1,000 sampled Manitobans “want to get back to pre-pandemic times, but are still cautious and uneasy,” with 19 per cent of respondents saying they want to continue self-isolation.

“It’s definitely a timely poll that provides concrete data about consumers’ apprehensiveness and nerves,” said Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, one of the associations that sponsored the poll.

“We know how businesses feel about our economic recovery, but what we now have is the missing piece about how consumers really feel in going back to how things were,” he said.

“It’s not surprising to see that Manitobans feel daunted.”

According to the survey, a vast majority of people — 65 per cent — would feel more comfortable “reconnecting with the economy and society,” with widespread and increased COVID-19 testing in place, especially among older citizens.

Those most likely to remain cautious about “going out in society,” the poll found, includes university graduates (representing 22 per cent), people aged 55 or older (representing 25 per cent) and women (representing 55 per cent).

Chuck Davidson, president and CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, told the Free Press the poll reinforces “a need for clarity about the safety of commercial spaces from the government.”

“People are going to commercial spaces at their own pace, determining slowly whether they feel safe or not, but we know they listen to authorities,” he said, citing the poll’s findings about most Manitobans having good working knowledge of COVID-19 regulations, such as those about mask-wearing, gathering size limits and provincial re-entry rules.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about consumer confidence,” said Davidson. “A public government campaign of some sort would go a long way to let people know, ‘Hey, it’s actually safe to be doing business.’”

The poll found 75 per cent of Manitobans believe it is critical to their “economic participation” that commercial and service spaces are reported to be virus-free and following health protocols per safety regulations.

But despite consumers’ hesitation, over 90 per cent of those surveyed also reported they were concerned about the effect of COVID-19 on the province’s overall economy.

Bram Strain, CEO and president of the Business Council of Manitoba, suggests that statistic has to do with personal finances, citing the 65 per cent of respondents who reported such concerns.

Strain said reassurances to people that commercial spaces are safe for them is key to achieving economic stability post-pandemic.

“We’ve been the envy of several regions in Canada in terms of how well we’ve done to flatten the curve,” he said. “I think now we need to start changing our messaging so we can reopen the economy.”

 

temur.durrani@freepress.mb.ca