New polling data shows that Canadians rank cannabis legalization as Justin Trudeau’s top accomplishment in his nearly ten years in office. 

The online poll, conducted and presented by the Angus Reid Institute, took place from March 4-6, 2025, among a representative randomized sample of 1,850 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. 

Just over half of Canadians (52%) listed cannabis legalization as an example of a policy success by the Trudeau Liberal government, higher than the public’s view of the Trudeau government’s handling of COVID-19 (47%) and the response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (46%).

Younger Canadian men (18-35) were more likely to consider cannabis legalization a successful policy (66%), but support decreased with age. Men aged 55 and older were the least likely to say the same (40%). 

Women showed a similar spread of support, with more support among the 18-35 crowd (59%) than the 55+ crowd (46%).

For Canadians who listed cannabis legalization as a failure, a similar trend among age groups emerged, with 30% of Canadian men aged 55+ saying it was a policy failure, while 27% of women aged 55 and up said the same. Only 16% of men aged 18-34 said cannabis legalization was a failure, and 17% for women in the same age group. 

Unsurprisingly, those who supported the Conservative party were overwhelmingly not supportive of cannabis legalization, while Liberal and NDP voters, and, to a lesser degree, BQ voters, were supportive. 

The Conservative Party of Canada opposed cannabis legalization on principle as the legislation was being debated in parliament in 2017 and 2018. All party members voted against legalization except for one Conservative MP, Scott Reid (ON), who says the party punished him for breaking ranks on the bill.

Cannabis legalization had the highest net assessment among all potential party voters, followed by the expansion of the social safety net like the Child Care Benefit, dental care coverage, and more, as well as the response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Canada’s handling of COVID-19, and promoting equality among women. 

At a provincial level, support for cannabis legalization was highest in Atlantic Canada, Ontario, BC, and Quebec, and opposition to cannabis legalization was highest in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and rural Canada in general. Trudeau recently announced he was stepping down as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Prime Minster of Canada following the selection of a new party leader on March 9.

Just over 1 in 20 adults (5.7%) reported daily or almost daily use of cannabis in 2024, down from 6.5% a year earlier.

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