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A new Forum Research poll shows 58 per cent of Canucks now think our economy is contracting. Though it didn’t ask Canadians to define a recession — which is, technically, two terms of negative growth — in an election year, what they feel about that question might be more indicative. The national survey of over 1,200 people was conducted July 19 and 20, after the Bank of Canada again cut interest rates and signalled the country may have fallen into recession in the first half of 2015. It asked: “As far as you know, is Canada in a recession or not?”

“While the official marker of a recession is two quarters of negative growth, recessions really start when people believe they do, which seems to have occurred already,” said Forum Research President Lorne Bozinoff in a statement.

About a third of Canadians — 29 per cent — don’t believe the economy is contracting and 13 per cent have no opinion. Those younger than 45 are most likely to think the economy is in trouble at 62 per cent; 62 per cent of men think the country is on shaky ground compared to 54 per cent of women. Higher income earners, Albertans and a whopping 70 per cent of New Democrats also think the country’s economic engine is squealing.

Self-identified Conservatives aren’t so sure about all the fuss, only 37 per cent of them think the country’s GDP is shrinking.

“While government supporters are eager to pin the blame on a general global economic downturn, opposition parties are much more eager to lay blame at the government’s feet, either because of their poor monetary policy or their single minded focus on Canada’s energy sector,” Bozinoff said.