After asking Canada which professions are most trustworthy we found out that all jobs are not created equal when it comes to our levels of trust. Not surprisingly, it’s the people we count on in emergencies who top our trust list, but when it comes to the people we chose to run our country—that’s a different story.

A new Canada Speaks survey by Sympatico/MSN reports that Canadians rate “firefighters” (93%) as the most ‘trustworthy’ profession in Canada, followed by  “nurses” (87%), “pharmacists” (86%), “airline pilots” (81%), and “doctors” (80%). Among the least trusted professions, according to the survey, are “Chief Executive Officers (CEOs)” (21%), “trade unions” (19%), “local” (12%) and “national” (7%) politicians, and “car salespeople” (7%).

Of those surveyed, when it comes to which profession Canadians consider to be most desirable for them, “doctors” (14%) top the list, followed by “teachers” (9%), “police” (7%), “nurses” (7%), and “firefighters” (7%). Meanwhile, professions such as “plumbers” and those working in the “judicial system” are regarded as the least desirable professional avenues.

When asked to identify the level of importance of various attributes in their personal assessment of the trustworthiness of professions and associations, Canadians point to measures of “integrity” (67%), “commitment to promises” (64%) and “reliability” (62%) as extremely important considerations. Meanwhile, other issues, such as “professionalism” (45%), “reputation” (35%), “personal experience” (32%) and “contribution to society” (22%) are usually seen as being less important to them.

The Sympatico / MSN Canada Speaks survey also revealed that Canadians felt the “medical research industry” (57%), the “airline industry” (52%), and the “technology industry” (49%) are the most trusted industries for Canadians. Meanwhile, the “advertising industry” (14%), the “oil industry” (12%) and the “tobacco industry” (7%) are regarded as the least trustworthy industries.  Also, “quality of product” (71%) and “customer service” (69%) are rated as the most important attributes for Canadians when assessing the reputation and trustworthiness of a company or industry. Other measures such as “innovation” (17%) or “advertising” (7%) are seen as far less important in this regard.

The survey took place from December 21st to December 27th, 2006. A representative sample of 1000 adult Canadians were interviewed via an online survey vehicle.

source sympatico.msn.com

http://canadaspeaks.sympatico.msn.ca/