Seven-in-ten would place the contests under the purview of Elections Canada and more than half support holding primaries.
Vancouver, BC [September 11, 2024] – As the activities of the Foreign Interference Commission continue, many Canadians express support for new guidelines to govern federal nomination races, a new Research Co. poll has found.
The Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions has raised questions about foreign interference affecting federal nomination races.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, seven-in-ten Canadians (70%) think it would be a “very good” or “good” idea to place all federal nomination races under the jurisdiction of Elections Canada.
“The notion of Elections Canada overseeing federal nomination contests is very popular among supporters of all three major parties,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Sizeable majorities of those who voted for the Liberal Party (77%), the Conservative Party (72%) or the New Democratic Party (NDP) (71%) in the 2021 federal election regard this as a positive move.”
More than half of Canadians (53%) are in favour of holding open primary elections in contested federal nominations, like they do in the United States.
Support for holding this type of open primaries is highest in British Columbia (60%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (also 60%), followed by Ontario (57%), Alberta (55%), Quebec (52%) and Atlantic Canada (48%).
More than two-in-five Canadians (45%) are following the Foreign Interference Commission “very closely” or “moderately closely”.
Compared to a Research Co. survey conducted in February 2023—before the Foreign Interference Commission was called—there is an increase in the proportion of Canadians who think China is “very likely” or “moderately likely” to have attempted to influence electoral processes in Canada in this century, from 60% last year to 66% in 2024.
Fewer Canadians feel the United States (63%, +2), Russia (57%, +1), India (42%) and Pakistan (33%) have attempted to influence Canada’s electoral processes.
There is a noticeable jump when Canadians are asked about the type of electoral processes that have been successfully influenced by foreign governments in this century.
Almost two thirds of Canadians (64%, +6) think there has been “definite” or “probable” foreign influence on federal elections, and more than half (55%, +6) feel the same way about federal nomination contests.
This year, Canadians are also more likely to think that four other types of democratic contests have been tainted by foreign actors: provincial elections (49%, +7), provincial nomination contests (39%, +4), municipal elections (40%, +7) and municipal nomination contests (34%, +5).
More than seven-in-ten Canadians (73%, +1) are in favour of Canada introducing laws against foreign interference similar to the ones currently in place in Australia, which criminalize covert and deceptive or threatening activities.
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted on August 19 to August 21, 2024, among 1,002 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our data tables here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca