Canadians "spooked" about the economy and I wonder why

I've pointed out before that it's quite odd Steven Harper is lowering expectations for the Canadian economy. Politicians are the head cheerleader for their country. Now I read in the CEP news that Canadians are "spooked" about the economy, despite fairly good growth rates:

14:33 01/09 (CEP News) Ottawa – Canadians’ outlook for the economy in the coming year is at the most pessimistic level in 24 years according to a survey conducted by POLLARA Inc. on behalf of the Economic Club of Toronto (ECOT).

The survey of more than 4,500 Canadians showed half of them expect their household income to fall behind the cost of living in 2008, reflecting an 18-point increase in that sentiment compared to 2006.

“Canadians are spooked and they want some evidence that there are plans afoot to improve things,” said POLLARA Chairman Michael Marzolini, who presented the results of the annual poll at ECOT’s annual Economic Outlook Conference.

Get the full version here

This could be partly due to the regional growth rates. Some places in Canada are doing much better than others. This isn't particularly unusual, however, and I can't think of anywhere where the economy is incredibly horrid.