Two-Thirds of Canadian Voters Say Feds Don’t Care What They Think: Poll

Storm clouds pass by the Peace Tower and Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Aug. 18, 2020. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

The majority of Canadian voters believe the federal government doesn’t care what they think, according to a survey by Elections Canada (EC).

“In March 2023, two-thirds of electors (65%) said they do not think the government cares much what people like them think,” said the poll report, published on March 31, and first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter.

A breakdown of the figure shows that 26 percent of the respondents “strongly agreed” while 39 percent “somewhat agreed.”

The poll was conducted by market research firm Leger on behalf of EC during the first week of March. It was done to gauge public opinion on various electoral issues, including the voters’ trust and belief that they can understand and influence political affairs.

A total of 2,505 Canadians who are eligible voters took part in the poll.

Researchers noted that residents in the prairie provinces were more inclined to say that the federal government was indifferent to their views.

“Respondents living in Alberta (74%) and Manitoba/Saskatchewan (71%) were more likely to agree, while those living in Quebec (58%) were less likely to agree,” they wrote.

Age played a factor among respondents who held that sentiment.

“Electors aged 35–54 (68%) were more likely to agree than all other ages,” the report added.

Asked about how much confidence they have in the federal government, only 10 percent of the respondents indicated “a great deal of confidence.”

While 43 percent said they had “a fair amount of confidence” in the government, 44 percent disagreed—with 27 percent having “not much confidence” and 17 percent having “no confidence.”

Foreign Interference

The poll also shows voters have been questioning whether recent federal elections were run “fairly” due in part to suspected meddling by foreign agents.

“While a large majority (78%) of electors in March 2023 generally believe that Elections Canada runs federal elections fairly, this proportion has gone down significantly from 81% in April 2022, continuing a slow decrease observed since April 2021,” the report said.

“Concerns about electoral integrity and security (18%) and a regional distribution of seats that is perceived to be unfair (8%) remain the top two reasons, followed by concerns about foreign/Chinese influence/interference (7%), which is a new finding in March 2023.”

Respondents aged 35 to 54 were “significantly more likely” to mention concerns about foreign Chinese interference in the federal elections than younger voters, said the report.

The survey was conducted prior to the March 22 resignation of former Liberal MP Han Dong over allegations that he had advised Chinese diplomats on delaying the release of Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig during the Meng Wangzhou affair. It was also conducted prior to the March 23 Commons vote for a public inquiry into foreign election interference.

Leger researchers found that electors who have knowledge of federal and provincial powers were more likely to be concerned (9 percent) about Chinese interference than those who do not (2 percent).

Seventy-six percent of voters of all ages expressed concern about the spread of false information online. It was followed by 66 percent who said “foreign money” being used to influence Canadian politics could have a major impact on future elections.

Foreign countries or groups using social media and other means to influence the political opinions of Canadians was cited by 65 percent of the respondents as the next biggest worry.

“Finally, six in 10 (62%) electors thought hacking by foreign countries or groups into the computer systems that support the election could have an impact on the election (34% a major impact),” the report concluded.