As infection rates begin to slow across the country and businesses re-open once again, people are finally starting to feel a sense of normality following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While life is beginning to resemble what it was like before the pandemic hit, many Canadians have expressed a strong belief that things will never fully return to the way they used to be.  

In a new poll conducted by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies, 28 per cent of Canadians said they felt that life would not return to normal after the pandemic ends. 

Just eight per cent of people believed that society will go back to the way it was before, while 62 per cent said that it will "take time." 

This chart shows Canadians' feelings about life after the pandemic. Source: Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies

The study also revealed that the majority of Canadians believe there will be a second wave of the virus. And 74 per cent said that the virus would return, while just 10 per cent disagreed. 

This chart shows the majority of Canadians believe there will be a second wave of the virus. Source: Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies

A total of 1,521 Canadian adults were surveyed in the poll, which was conducted online from June 19 to 21.

Elsewhere, 66 per cent of respondents said that the two-metre social distancing rule should remain in place, as recommended by Canada’s public health authorities.

This chart shows the majority of Canadians believe we should keep the two-metre distance rule for now. Source: Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies

Furthermore, while 42 per cent of people said they felt that the worst of the crisis is over, 32 per cent of those surveyed believed that the worst is still yet to come.