The public speaks on democracy and governance in Canada and across the Americas
- How do Canadians feel about democracy in Canada today?
- What tolerance do Canadians have for political dissent (through demonstrations, etc.)?
- How much confidence does the public have in the justice system?
- How engaged are citizens in their local communities?
- How have such opinions among Canadians changed over the past few years?
- And how do such opinions compare with those of Americans, Mexicans, and citizens in Central and South American countries?
These are among the central questions addressed in a major survey just completed by the Environics Institute, as the Canadian partner of a 26 country study called the AmericasBarometer. The AmericasBarometer is a multi-country public opinion survey on democratic values and behaviours in the Americas, conducted every two years by a consortium of academic and think tank partners in the hemisphere. In each country, the survey is conducted with a representative sample of voting-age adults, in some cases including oversamples to provide for analysis at the regional level. Surveys are conducted face-to-face with respondents in their households, except in the USA and Canada where surveys are conducted online using established Internet panels. Surveys undergo pre-testing, and translation into major languages used in each country. AmericasBarometer survey data are publicly available, with comprehensive reports produced at the country level.
Survey Details
The 2012 AmericasBarometer survey was conducted in Spring 2012 in 26 countries, with a total sample of 40,971 individuals (with individual country samples ranging from 1,412 in Haiti to 3,009 in Bolivia). The questionnaire consisted of a core set of questions (tailored to country-specific terminology) and was administered by a domestic research institute, in most cases university-based. In all countries except Canada and the USA, the survey was administered as in-person interviews in people’s homes.
The survey was conducted in English and French by Elemental Data Collection Inc., using an established online panel with a representative sample of 1,501 Canadians (aged 18 and over) between May 15 and 22, 2012. The sample was weighted by region, age and gender to match the country’s population.
Partners
In 2012, the Environics Institute joined the LAPOP consortium as the Canadian partner, and conducted the Canadian portion of this year’s survey.
The AmericasBarometer surveys measure trust in a range of political institutions and actors on a seven-point scale. Here is a summary of the most recent results for Canada, showing the trend since 2010.
Related reading
AmericasBarometer 2014
The AmericasBarometer is a multi-country public opinion survey on democracy, governance and civic engagement, conducted every two years by a consortium of of research partners across the western hemisphere. The 2014 survey included 26 countries, encompassing 99% of the population of the Americas.
AmericasBarometer 2017
The AmericasBarometer is a 29 country public opinion survey on democracy, governance and civic engagement, conducted every two to three years by a consortium of of research partners across the western hemisphere.
Focus Canada 2012
Focus Canada is an ongoing public opinion research program that provides a credible, independent and sustained source of Canadian public opinion data on important issues facing the country.