democracy

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.

The resignation of Canada’s governor general and the renewed in-fighting within the royal family have sparked a fresh round of reflection about Canada’s ties to the monarchy.

Only a fool would set out to forecast events for 2021 considering the unexpected year we’ve had. But we can still reflect on how the events of the past 12 months have set the stage for what comes next.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments in Canada have benefitted from remarkable public goodwill.

Five months after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the Environics Institute for Survey Research and the Vancouver City Savings credit union joined forces to conduct a comprehensive study of public opinion about what Canadians are expecting from their governments, from corporations and from one another.

Data from the 2018 Wellcome Global Monitor, a major study of attitudes to science and health conducted by Gallup in 140 countries, shows that most people worldwide trust scientists, and trust a doctor or nurse for health advice over other sources, such as family, friends or religious leaders.

In just a few days, we went from wondering how COVID-19 would affect us to finding ourselves in the midst of a national emergency. Many expect major disruptions to expose the weak patches in our civic fabric, and there have been, and will continue to be, actions and episodes that have disappointed and shocked.

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.

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.