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. While questions abound about the commitment of publics and politicians to liberal democracy in other countries, public support in Canada has generally remained either stable or is improving.
Large majorities are satisfied with how democracy works in Canada and maintain that, despite its foibles, democracy is better than any other form of government. Most trust elections, and in recent years the level of trust in elections has been growing. Canadians are becoming more interested in politics, and fewer doubt whether governments are really that interested in what people like them think.
Finally, most Canadians have trust in one another. These trends do not undo longer-term ones, several decades in the making, which have seen citizens become less willing to defer to elites. But they do suggest that, as the 2019 federal election campaign gets underway, Canadians can have considerable confidence in themselves as a civic society.
Survey Details
The data analyzed in this report are drawn from the Canadian and U.S. portions of the AmericasBarometer surveys. The AmericasBarometer is a recurring study conducted approximately every two years, covering 23 countries spanning the Western Hemisphere. In Canada, the surveys of approximately 1,500 adults were conducted online five times over the past decade: in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019. Since 2012, the Canadian surveys were conducted by the Environics Institute for Survey Research.1 Data from the U.S. surveys of approximately 1,500 American adults were obtained from the Latin American Public Opinion Project.
The AmericasBarometer surveys include a variety of questions related to confidence in the political system. These questions ask about satisfaction with, pride in, support for, respect for, trust in and approval of different political institutions or actors. Many of these questions ask respondents to express the extent of their agreement or trust on a 7-point scale. In these cases, this report will look at expressions of strong agreement or strong trust, which combine responses of six and seven on the scale, or low agreement or low trust, which combine responses of one and two.
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
Democracy and Political Polarization in Canada and the U.S.
This presentation compares the results in Canada and the United Sates. It shows that American politics remains highly polarized in several senses; for instance, there are significant gaps in trust in the political system between those who identify as liberals and those who identify as conservatives.
Are Canadians losing confidence in their democracy?
There are few certainties heading into an election campaign; the outcome is up for grabs. The one thing many do feel certain of is that it is Canada's turn to be buffeted by the winds of populism.
Support for Democracy in Canada
This report explores the current state of public trust in democratic institutions and actors in Canada, and how this may have changed over time. The data are drawn from the 2021 AmericasBarometer survey in Canada.