Although more than three-quarters of Canadians still believe we are in recession, more than half believe 2010 will be the year the economy turns around, a huge increase compared to 2009, an Economic Club of Canada/Pollara Strategic Research poll showed last week.

According to the survey, 54% of respondents said they expect the Canadian economy to improve in 2010, compared to only 20% who said 2009 would bring better times when polled a year ago. Likewise, the percentage of Canadians who feel the economy will worsen dropped to 14%, compared to 57% a year ago.

The Economic Club released the poll during its Economic Outlook 2010 presentation on Wednesday morning in Toronto. Senior economists from Canada's largest banks are presenting their opinions on what to expect during the current economc year.

"While the statistical change is dramatic, remember we saw historically low numbers in confidence last year," Michael Marzolini, chairman of Pollara wrote in the release. "More than three-quarters of Canadians -- 78% -- still believe we are in recession, but that is a drop from 91% who felt that way one year ago."

Consumer confidence hit a 27-year low in December 2008, with the Conference Board of Canada's Consumer Confidence Index falling to to 67.7, the lowest level since the 63 recorded during the 1981-82 recession.

On the employment front, 43% of those surveyed said they believe it will improve, compared to just 12% one year ago. Only 22% said they feel the employment situation will worsen in 2010, compared to 68% in 2009.

The results echo Monday's RBC Canadian Consumer Outlook Index which showed 60% of respondents said they expect the Canadian economy to improve over the next year, while only 17% expect it to worsen.

The results were collected from 4,263 respondents on Pollara's online panel from Dec. 6 to 14 and is weighted by age, gender and region. The margin of error is 1.5%, 19 times out of 20.