December 28, 2023 —Pollara’s year-end poll shows the news stories Canadians paid the most attention to in 2023 were the war in Ukraine, wildfires across Canada, the conflict in Israel and Gaza, and the Bank of Canada raising interest rates. These were all stories that elicited negative emotions from at least two-thirds of Canadians.
When asked which stories they actively searched for news on in 2023, the top answers were:
| The conflict in Israel and Gaza | 26% |
| The war in Ukraine | 24% |
| The Bank of Canada raising interest rates | 22% |
| Wildfires across Canada | 21% |
| Search for the Titan submersible | 11% |
| Donald Trump’s indictments | 11% |
| Oppenheimer and Barbie movies | 9% |
| ChatGPT growing in popularity | 9% |
There are big differences between the types of stories searched for when comparing Canadians of different ages. Younger Canadians were more likely to search for news about Taylor Swift, Barbenheimer, ChatGPT, and interest rates, with older Canadians searching more for news about Trump and overseas conflicts.
