politics

What does the public expect from governments, and how well do they believe their country, province and local municipality are governed?

Over the past eight years, the federal Conservatives have seldom missed an opportunity to show Canadians how seriously they take crime and how eager they are to make convicted offenders sorry for their transgressions.

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.

When U.S. President Barack Obama won 71 per cent of the Hispanic vote in 2012, it dealt the final blow to an idea that had been popular during George W. Bush’s years: that Hispanic Americans’ conservative values on social issues (rooted in their predominantly Catholic religiosity), made them “natural” Republicans.

Much has been made of a purported rightward shift in Canadian values. But research shows that Canadians still want government in their lives, and a majority are not embracing conservative social values.

Justin Trudeau, leader of a Liberal Party that many recent polls have found nudging ahead of the Conservatives, is fond of describing his growing army of young volunteers across the country.

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.

Why does demographic change matter to politics? Different demographic groups are not hard-wired to vote differently.

The public speaks on democracy and governance in Canada and across the Americas.