Firefighters most trusted professionals

CEOs, politicians and car salespeople among least trustworthy: survey

Canadians still view car salespeople as shifty, untrustworthy types, looking to swindle a customer, while they overwhelmingly trust firefighters and nurses, according to a recent survey.

The poll of 1,000 Canadians, conducted on behalf of Sympatico.MSN, found that 93 per cent of respondents rate firefighters as trustworthy, followed by nurses (87 per cent), pharmacists (86 per cent), airline pilots (81 per cent) and doctors (80 per cent).

In comparison, only 21 per cent of Canadians polled by Ipsos Reid rated CEOs as trustworthy. The least trustworthy of all professionals in the "whom do we trust" survey were union leaders (19 per cent), local politicians (12 per cent), national politicians and car salespeople (both at seven per cent).

While trustworthiness rankings have been fairly consistent since the survey was first conducted in 2002, there have been some notable changes, according to Sympatico.MSN. Chiropractors moved up to 12th place from 15th in 2002, and plumbers moved up to 15th place from 21st.

The survey respondents said they considered factors such as integrity, reliability and commitment to promises in considering the trustworthiness of people who work in the various occupational groups.

Professional rankings

ProfessionRanking
Firefighters93 per cent
Nurses87 per cent
Pharmacists86 per cent
Airline pilots81 per cent
Doctors80 per cent
Police officers69 per cent
Teachers69 per cent
Armed forces personnel65 per cent
Daycare workers61 per cent
Accountants54 per cent
Judges52 per cent
Chiropractors49 per cent
Financial advisers47 per cent
Charitable organization employees41 per cent
Environmentalists39 per cent
Plumbers39 per cent
People who work for religious institutions37 per cent
Judicial system employees33 per cent
Television and radio personalities29 per cent
Real estate agents28 per cent
Journalists26 per cent
Lawyers25 per cent
Auto mechanics25 per cent
New home builders23 per cent
Other members of the press22 per cent
CEOs21 per cent
Union leaders19 per cent
Local politicians12 per cent
National politicians7 per cent
Car salespeople7 per cent

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