As the world continues to experience the economic crisis, Canadian companies remain some of the most trusted around the globe, according to the 11th annual Edelman Trust Barometer.
"Canada is seen as a bit of a boy scout," said Heather Conway, CEO of Edelman Canada. It is much easier to place Canadian executives around the world because they are used to multiculturalism, she said.
Canadian-headquartered companies have a level of trust of 75 per cent among respondents putting them in the top three along with Germany and Sweden. At the bottom of the list are Russia (35 per cent) and China (39 per cent).
Chris Williams, an international business professor at the Ivey School of Business, quickly points to four reasons for people having this trust.
"Canada is an advanced innovation-driven economy," said Williams. "Look at companies like Research in Motion and Bombardier."
These companies are global names and give people tangible evidence of cutting-edge and quality products, he said.
The second reason is corruption and government instability are low.
The third has to do with a strong financial sector. The World Economic Forum has ranked Canada as having the world's soundest banking system for the past three years.
The final reason is what Williams calls an "informal cultural aspect."
U.S. culture is high on individualism and masculinity and this ripples through to the business world," said Williams. Bosses are more approachable and the power distance is less in Canada creating a workplace with more cooperation.
Companies creating trust is important because the majority of people believe negative information about a company they distrust, but few believe negative information about a company they trust.
On the flip side, only 15 per cent of people believe positive information about a company they distrust, compared to 51 per cent of people who believe positive information about a company they trust.
The survey also found the industry people trust the most in Canada and around the world is technology.
"People like technology, they like their smartphones, they love their BlackBerries . . . they make people's lives easier," said Conway. "Technology is not seen by most people as having negative side effects on the environment."
Worldwide, technology scored 12 per cent better than the next closest industry, automotive. Rounding out the top three in Canada were brewing and spirits and food and beverage. At the bottom of the worldwide ranking are financial services, banks and insurance.
Despite this low ranking, trust is up slightly in the banking industry in Canada since 2008, but is down significantly in the U.S. and the U.K.
"Every other western economy trust in banks dipped," said Conway.
Canadians rank third in their trust of government, well behind the top two countries of China and Brazil. The U.S., Germany and Russia rank last. "People do believe there is a role for government," said Conway.
That role may be regulating businesses to ensure they behave responsibly as Canada ranks third in this category behind the U.K. and Ireland.
The Trust Barometer surveyed 5,075 people in 23 countries to discover what industries and countries are most trusted in business, government, media and non-governmental organizations.
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