Appendix 2: Survey Questionnaire – Public Opinion Research Study on Electoral Matters - Wave 3
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Tracking Survey on Electoral Matters – W2
Please select the language in which you wish to complete the survey.
- English/Anglais
- French/Français
Thank you for agreeing to take part in this short survey being conducted on behalf of Elections Canada by Léger. The survey aims to understand your honest opinions about trust in elections and other institutions in Canada. The survey should take no more than 8 minutes to complete, is voluntary, and completely confidential.
Any personal information collected is subject to the federal Privacy Act and will be held in strict confidence. By taking part in this survey, you consent to the use of your answers for research and statistical purposes. None of your opinions will be attributed to you personally in any way. The anonymous database of all responses may be shared with external researchers under the strict condition that no personal information is ever distributed or made public.
Click here if you wish to contact Elections Canada to verify the authenticity of this survey.
1. Citizen
Are you a Canadian citizen?
- 01. Yes
- 02. No [TERMINATE]
2. YOB
In what year were you born?
- Record year: [NUMBER]
- 99. Prefer not to say [TERMINATE]
[IF YOB>=2006, terminate]
[Show if YOB=2005]
3. Eighteen
Are you currently 18 years of age?
- 01. Yes
- 02. No [TERMINATE]
4. ProvTerr
In which province or territory do you live?
- 01. Alberta
- 02. British Columbia
- 03. Manitoba
- 04. New Brunswick
- 05. Newfoundland and Labrador
- 06. Northwest Territories
- 07. Nova Scotia
- 08. Nunavut
- 09. Ontario
- 10. Prince Edward Island
- 11. Quebec
- 12. Saskatchewan
- 13. Yukon
- 14. I live outside Canada [TERMINATE]
5. Gender
For the purposes of this survey, could you please provide your gender?
- 01. Female
- 02. Male
- 96. Or please specify. [TEXT]
- 99. Prefer not to say
6. MainNews
In general, which of these would you say is your main source of news?
[RANDOM 01-06]
- 01. Print newspapers or magazine
- 02. Online news websites or apps
- 03. Television
- 04. Radio
- 05. Social media: mostly posts by friends or family
- 06. Social media: mostly posts by news organizations or journalists
- 07. Other online news content (videos, podcast, influencers)
- 96. Other. Please specify: [TEXT]
- 97. I don't follow the news
- 98. Don't know/Refused
7. NewsOrigin
Thinking about your main source of news, how often do you see stories covering Canadian politics, U.S. politics, or politics from the rest of the world?
[Grid]
[Rows]
- a. Canadian politics
- b. U.S. politics
- c. World politics
[Columns]
- 01. Very often
- 02. Somewhat often
- 03. Somewhat rarely
- 04. Very rarely
- 05. Don't know
8. Polinterest
In general, how interested are you in politics?
- 01. Very interested
- 02. Somewhat interested
- 03. Not very interested
- 04. Not at all interested
- 98. Don't know
[Rotate KnowProvPowers and KnowFedPowers]
9. KnowProvPowers
To the best of your knowledge, which level of government has primary responsibility for education?
- 01. Federal government
- 02. Provincial government
- 03. Municipal government
- 98. Don't know
10. KnowFedPowers
To the best of your knowledge, which level of government has primary responsibility for defence?
- 01. Federal government
- 02. Provincial government
- 03. Municipal government
- 98. Don't know
11. Confidence
How much confidence, if any, do you have in the following institutions in Canada?
[GRID]
[ROWS; RANDOMIZE ITEMS]
- a. The provincial government
- b. The federal government
- c. The police
- d. Big business/corporations
- e. Elections Canada
- f. Mainstream media
- g. Social media platforms
[COLUMNS]
- 01. A great deal of confidence
- 02. A fair amount of confidence
- 03. Not much confidence
- 04. No confidence
- 98. Don't know
12. GEfairness
Thinking about federal elections in general, how fairly would you say Elections Canada runs the elections?
- 01. Very fairly
- 02. Somewhat fairly
- 03. Somewhat unfairly
- 04. Very unfairly
- 98. Don't know
[IF GEfairness = 03, 04]
13. ReasonUnfair
Is there a specific reason you think Elections Canada runs elections unfairly?
[OPEN-ENDED]
- 97. No particular reason
- 98. Don't know
- 99. Refusal
14. TrustElectionsChanges
[Split sample A and B]
A. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
If the government proposes changes to how federal elections are run, they are probably trying to make voting easier or fairer for all Canadians.
- 01. Strongly agree
- 02. Somewhat agree
- 03. Somewhat disagree
- 04. Strongly disagree
- 98. Don't know
B. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
If Elections Canada proposes changes to how federal elections are run, they are probably trying to make voting easier or fairer for all Canadians.
- 01. Strongly agree
- 02. Somewhat agree
- 03. Somewhat disagree
- 04. Strongly disagree
- 98. Don't know
15. InterferenceImpact
Based on what you have seen or heard recently, what impact, if any, do you think the following could have on the outcome of the next federal election in Canada?
[GRID]
[ROWS; Randomize a to d]
- a. Hacking by foreign countries or groups into the computer systems that support the election.
- b. Foreign countries or groups using social media and other means to influence the political opinions of Canadians.
- c. The spread of false information online.
- d. Foreign money being used to influence politics in Canada.
[COLUMNS]
- 01. Major impact
- 02. Moderate impact
- 03. Minor impact
- 04. No impact at all
- 98. Don't know
16. FraudPerception
[Split sample A and B]
A. Which statement is closest to your opinion about the voting system in Canada?
[ROTATE 01 AND 02]
- 01. Voting is prone to fraud
- 02. Voting is safe and reliable
- 98. Don't know
B. Which statement is closest to your opinion about voting by mail in Canada?
[ROTATE 01 AND 02]
- 01. Voting by mail is prone to fraud
- 02. Voting by mail is safe and reliable
- 98. Don't know
17. FraudFrequency
Overall, how often do you think the following types of voter fraud happen in Canadian federal elections?
[GRID]
[ROWS; ROTATE]
- a. Someone voting who is not a Canadian citizen
- b. Someone voting more than once
- c. Someone stealing or tampering with ballots after they have been cast
- d. Someone impersonating someone else
- 01. Often
- 02. Sometimes
- 03. Rarely
- 04. Almost never
- 98. Not sure
18. PoliticalEfficacy
Thinking about government and politics in Canada, how strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
[GRID]
[RANDOMize rows]
- a. All federal political parties are basically the same, there is not really a choice.
- b. I do not think government cares much about what people like me think.
- c. Sometimes politics and government seem so complicated that someone like me can't really understand what's going on.
- 01. Strongly agree
- 02. Somewhat agree
- 03. Somewhat disagree
- 04. Strongly disagree
- 98. Don't know
19. AffectivePolarization
Thinking about Canadians you might agree or disagree with politically, to what extent do you agree with the following statements?
[GRID]
[RANDOMize rows]
- a. I find it easier to relate to people if I agree with them politically.
- b. I find it harder to relate to people if I disagree with them politically.
- 03. To a large extent
- 02. To a moderate extent
- 01. To a small extent
- 00. Not at all
- 98. Don't know
20. TrustPeople
Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted, or that you need to be very careful when dealing with people?
- 01. Most people can be trusted
- 02. You need to be very careful when dealing with people
- 98. Don't know
21. ConspiracyBeliefs
There is often debate about whether or not the public is told the whole truth about various important issues. Please indicate the degree to which you believe each statement is true or false.
[GRID]
[ROWS; RANDOMIZE]
- a. Certain significant events have been the result of the activity of a small group who secretly manipulate world events.
- b. Experiments involving new drugs or technologies are routinely carried out on the public without their knowledge or consent.
- c. The government is trying to cover up the link between vaccines and autism.
- 01. Definitely true
- 02. Probably true
- 03. Probably false
- 04. Definitely false
- 98. Don't know
22. Area
Which of the following best describes the area where you live?
- 01. Urban or suburban area
- 02. Rural area or small town
- 99. Prefer not to answer
23. Education
What is the highest level of education that you have reached?
- 01. Some elementary
- 02. Completed elementary
- 03. Some high school
- 04. Completed high school
- 05. Some college/vocational/trade school/commercial/CEGEP
- 06. Completed college/vocational/trade school/ commercial/CEGEP
- 07. Some university (No degree or diploma obtained)
- 08. Completed university (Diploma or bachelor degree)
- 09. Post-graduate university/professional school (Master's, PhD, or any professional degree)
- 97. Other (specify)
- 98. Don't know
- 99. Prefer not to answer
24. Employment
What best describes your current employment status?
- 01. Working full-time (35 or more hours per week)
- 02. Working part-time (less than 35 hours per week)
- 03. Self-employed
- 04. DELETED ITEM
- 05. Unemployed, and looking for work
- 06. A student attending school
- 07. Training for a trade (e.g. apprenticeship)
- 08. Retired
- 09. A caregiver or homemaker
- 10. Not working due to illness/disability, or not looking for work
- 11. Temporarily not working (e.g. parental leave, seasonal worker, in the process of changing jobs)
- 96. Other, please specify: [TEXT]
- 99. Prefer not to answer
25. Indigenous
Are you First Nation, Métis, or Inuk (Inuit)?
- 01. No, not First Nations, Métis or Inuk (Inuit)
- 02. Yes, First Nations
- 03. Yes, Métis
- 04. Yes, Inuit
- 99. Prefer not to answer
[Hide if Indigenous=02-04]
26. Immigrant
Are you an immigrant to Canada?
- 01. No, I was born in Canada
- 02. Yes, I was born abroad and I became a citizen before 2016
- 03. Yes, I was born abroad and I became a citizen in or after 2016
- 99. Prefer not to answer
27. Disability
Do you have a disability?
- 01. Yes
- 02. No
- 99. Prefer not to say
28. PastVoting
In each election, many people don't or can't vote for a variety of reasons. Thinking about all elections (municipal, provincial and federal) since you have been eligible to vote, have you voted in none of them, some, most, or all of them?
- 01. None of them
- 02. Some of them
- 03. Most of them
- 04. All of them
- 98. Don't know/don't remember
[Hide if YOB>2003 or PastVoting=01]
29. VotedLastGE
The most recent federal election was held on September 20, 2021. Which of the following statements describes you?
- 01. I did not vote in the 2021 federal election
- 02. I thought about voting this time but didn't vote
- 03. I usually vote but didn't this time
- 04. I am sure I voted in the 2021 federal election
- 98. Don't know/don't remember
- 99. I was not eligible to vote in September 2021
ONLINE CLOSING PAGE
That concludes the survey. This survey was conducted on behalf of Elections Canada. Thank you very much for your thoughtful feedback. It is much appreciated.
If you have any questions about this survey, you can contact Elections Canada: Contact Elections Canada.
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TTY: (819) 994-6591
Web: Go to www.priv.gc.ca, "Report a concern".