Canadians support Mark Carney’s approach to managing the economy, even though he’s presided over the worst first year of growth for a prime minister since at least 1963.

A Nanos Research Group poll for Bloomberg News shows 60 per cent of Canadians think Carney has done a very good or good job of handling the economy. That compares with 24 per cent who think he’s done a poor or very poor job.

Another 14 per cent rate his performance as average, and two per cent were unsure.

The results are a robust endorsement of Carney’s economic stewardship. That’s despite the fact that since he was elected, real gross domestic product has shrunk by 0.05 per cent — the worst debut for a Canadian prime minister in at least 63 years.

Growth was 1.4 per cent during Stephen Harper’s first year as leader in 2006-07, while Justin Trudeau oversaw 1.7 per cent in 2015-16.

Carney maintained his predecessor’s tighter immigration policies, which have sharply slowed non-permanent resident arrivals and dampened growth. He also entered office as trade tensions with the United States — Canada’s largest export market — intensified.

Consumer spending and the housing market are weakened. U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats are weighing on business investment and have crimped many non-energy exports.

Combined, that’s meant back-to-back quarterly contractions in gross domestic product, a characteristic of a recession, though most economists and the Bank of Canada have dismissed that label for now.

Amid that challenging backdrop, the polling data suggest Canadians are blaming global factors for the country’s economic woes rather than Carney himself.

“The uncertainty in the Canada—U.S. relationship — largely driven by Trump’s negotiation strategy — has likely diverted attention from the Carney government to the Trump administration,” said Nik Nanos, chief data scientist at the polling firm.

“At this time they’re getting a pass on the state of Canada’s finances and stewardship of the economy.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has attacked Carney’s economic record, calling him “badly educated” in economics. He argues that despite degrees from Harvard University and the University of Oxford and experience leading two central banks, Carney has been wrong on major issues such as post-pandemic inflation. Poilievre has also criticized the pace of government action on approving major resource projects.

The survey suggests his criticisms are not resonating with most Canadians.

At the same time, a slower economy has also brought some affordability relief that may be helping Carney politically.