A slim majority of Canadians are confident in the federal government, according to Elections Canada research..The agency said it commissioned the internal polling “to gauge the general public’s opinion on various electoral issues.”.According to Blacklock's Reporter, when asked, “How much confidence if any do you have in the federal government?” only 54% expressed confidence. A small minority, 10%, expressed “a great deal of confidence” in the federal government. A larger number, 17%, expressed “no confidence at all.”.When asked if they agreed with the 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,” more than a fifth of people surveyed, 21%, disagreed. An equal number, 21%, said “voting is prone to fraud” in Canada..“Two thirds of electors, 66%, said they do not think the government cares much what people like them think,” said the Elections Canada report Public Opinion Research Study On Electoral Matters. More than a quarter, 26%, said they “strongly agreed” government was indifferent..The rate was highest among Albertans (78%), indigenous people (77%) and Canadians with a college education or trades certificate (73%). Findings were drawn from questionnaires with 2,504 people nationwide. Elections Canada paid $81,622 for the research by Léger Marketing Inc..“Elections Canada must always be ready to organize elections even in exceptional circumstances such as in the event of a natural disaster or emergency,” said Research Study. “In this context Elections Canada wanted to gauge the general public’s opinion on various electoral issues and topics at different points in time in between elections.”.When asked, “Which of these would you say is your main source of news?” 33% said they relied on television. Others mainly followed internet news sites (29%), social media (14%) and radio (8%)..Only 4% of Canadians surveyed said they still relied on print newspapers for their news. An equal number, 4%, said: “I don’t follow the news.”.The survey also found public cynicism was so widespread a significant minority of Canadians believed in conspiracy theories..“The most accepted theory (41%) was certain significant events have been the result of the activity of a small group who secretly manipulate world events, with one in 10 thinking it was definitely true and three in 10 ‘probably true,’” wrote researchers..“About one third, 32%, thought experiments involving new drugs or technologies are routinely carried out on the public without their knowledge,” said the report. Eighteen percent also said they “thought the government is trying to cover up a link between vaccines and autism.”
