Canadian satisfaction with Canada as a country continues to decline, especially when it comes to perceptions of its political institutions, with younger Canadians having the bleakest view of the nation among all age groups.

A new national survey by Nanos Research found that about two out of three Canadians (64 percent) say they are satisfied with Canada as a country.

This represents a 10 percent drop compared to just two years ago, when 74 percent of Canadians expressed satisfaction with the country.

This decline is more severe when looking at Canadians under 35, whose score drops to 5.8.

For his part, Nanos, head of the research institute, said that the poor score for the under-35 age group should be of particular concern to Liberals, who inspired a large proportion of young Canadians in the 2015 federal election. In that election, voter turnout among 18 to 24 year olds increased by more than 18 percentage points to reach 57.1 percent.

This cloud of pessimism has not gone unnoticed by politicians, including Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who seems to be using it to gain an advantage.

The strategy also appears to be blaming high grocery bills and inflation, the overburdened healthcare system, and everything else weighing down Canadians.

Nanos said that Poilievre is trying to portray the Liberals as "directly responsible for breaking Canada," which is a very different approach from past opposition leaders.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, rebutted Poilievre's accusation, saying in a speech he gave in December: "Let me be clear for the record: Canada is not broken," and accused the Conservative leader of inflating conspiracy theories and avoiding tough questions from journalists.

The Nanos survey also asked Canadians about their views on Canadian institutions and how they contribute to the country, including those in the fields of politics, education, healthcare, law enforcement, and arts and cultural organizations.

The survey found that Canadians believe universities (average score 7.3) and the healthcare system (7.0) are major contributors to Canada. But they rated political institutions – including the House of Commons (5.7), the Prime Minister (4.9), the Senate (4.1), and the Governor General (3.6) – as the lowest-scoring contributors on the list.