Canadians remain unconvinced that the recession has ended, and have gained little confidence about their personal finances in recent months, a new survey from Angus Reid Strategies shows.

The survey of more than 1,000 Canadian adults conducted earlier this week found that only one-in-10 believe the recession will end in 2009, while nearly 60% said they expect an economic recovery in 2010. These expectations are despite the release of economic data on Monday showing that the economy grew in the month of June.

Nearly one quarter of Canadians polled do not expect the recession to end until 2011.

However, the survey showed that Canadians are generally feeling better about the state of the economy than they have in recent months. Of the respondents, 47% rated the current economic conditions as good or very good, up from 43% in July and 37% in June.

The proportion of respondents who expect economic conditions to improve in the next three months surged to 42%, up from just 28% in June.

Despite improving confidence in the economy as a whole, Canadians’ feelings about their own personal finances have not changed noticeably in recent months. Of those polled, 62% rated their own personal finances as good or very good, up slightly from 59% in July, and little changed from 61% in June.

High-income and better educated Canadians were most likely to rate their personal finances as good or very good, at 72%. Among those whose annual household income is less than $50,000, just half of respondents described their situation the same way.

Residents of Atlantic Canada displayed the least amount of confidence around their personal finances, with 45% of respondents describing their situation as poor or very poor. Quebec residents also expressed concern, with 39% of respondents falling into this category.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents displayed the most confidence, with 83% of respondents rating their personal finances as good or very good.

The survey shows that a growing number of Canadians are confident that government stimulus spending will help the economy recover. Two-thirds of respondents said they expect government actions to help the economy, up from 56% in June.

A larger number of Canadians are also more confident about the state of the economy relative to those in other countries. More than three-quarters of respondents believe the Canadian economy is in better shape than the U.S. economy, up from 71% in June.

IE