Heading into election year, cost of living still dominates voter priorities – National [Video]

Canadians preparing to head to the polls in the new year are likely to be voting with their wallets.

Cost-of-living issues continue to dominate the list of priorities for Canadians, according to the findings of new Ipsos polling conducted exclusively for Global News.

The results of the poll, published Friday, found that one in four respondents ranked inflation and the cost of living as their top priority in Canada today, up five percentage points from a year earlier.

While health care took the second spot (17 per cent, up three points from last year), other pocketbook issues dominated the rest of the list, according to Ipsos.

Housing availability and affordability (14 per cent) rounded out the top three, followed by immigration (seven per cent), and the economy, unemployment and jobs (also seven per cent). Taxes, poverty and social inequality and government debt all followed at five per cent.

The polling, conducted from Dec. 6 to 10, surveyed …