Report

This report explores the issue of political polarization in Canada and the United States through an analysis of public opinion data about democracy collected over the past decade.

Previous research has shown that satisfaction with political institutions and trust in political actors in Canada has gradually been rising over the past decade. This report pushes this analysis deeper, by focusing not only on the national trend, but on sub-national ones as well.

A succession of economic downturns over the last decades has led many to express concerns that the next generation of Canadians will be less, and not more, well-off than the ones that preceded it.

This study confirms the reality of racism in Canada. Also important, it shows that this reality is widely if not universally acknowledged. Many Canadians across different racial backgrounds report experiences of racism and discrimination due to race, and also recognize that it also affects others of their own race and from other racial groups.

Concerns have long been expressed about the extent of influence exercised by powerful or well-connected groups in society over the direction of the government.

The latest Environics Institute Focus Canada survey, conducted during the last two weeks of the recent federal election campaign, highlights some of the regional differences in outlook in Canada that are now reflected in the distribution of seats in the House of Commons.

The 43rd Canadian Federal Election just concluded was a tightly-contested campaign in which the incumbent Liberal Government led by Justin Trudeau found itself in a tough fight for reelection just a few years after it took office on a promise of “sunny ways” and broad political support.

This report examines public opinion on a range of issues in Canada’s four largest metropolitan areas – Montreal, Toronto, Calgary-Edmonton (combined) and Vancouver – areas that together hold 43 percent of the country’s total population.

No attempt to assess, modernize or reimagine the Canadian federation today is complete without including the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples, and addressing issues relating to the prosperity and well-being of Indigenous Peoples and communities.

This report examines current levels of public support for democracy, democratic institutions and the political system in Canada and how these have evolved over the past decade.