Elections Canada's internal research showed 13% of voters believe federal elections in Canada are unfair, partly due to suspected interference by foreign agents..According to Blacklock’s Reporter, more than a quarter of respondents, 27%, believe the voting process in Canada is “prone to fraud.”.“While a large majority of electors, 78%, generally believe Elections Canada runs federal elections fairly, this proportion has gone down significantly from 81% in 2022,” said a pollsters’ report Public Opinion Research Study on Electoral Matters. .“Concerns about electoral integrity and security, and a regional distribution of seats that is perceived to be unfair, remain the top two reasons followed by concerns about foreign Chinese interference, which is a new finding.”.The recently released data were collected through questionnaires completed by 2,505 individuals nationwide during the first week of March..The survey took place before the March 22 resignation of MP Han Dong (Don Valley North, ON) from the Liberal caucus. His resignation was related to allegations of secret contacts with Chinese agents. It was also conducted before a March 23 vote in the House of Commons regarding establishing a public inquiry into foreign agent interference..Elections Canada spent $81,622 on the survey conducted by Leger Marketing..Asked, “How fairly would you say Elections Canada runs elections?” 13% rated it unfair. .“The most common specific reason to think Elections Canada runs elections unfairly were concerns about electoral integrity and security or thinking elections are ‘rigged,’ that the regional distribution of seats is unfair or allows elections to be decided by Ontario and Québec, and concerns about foreign Chinese influence or interference,” said Public Opinion..The report said frequent voters and Canadians aged 35-to-54 “were significantly more likely to mention concerns about foreign Chinese interference” than younger voters. .Researchers found 76% of voters of all ages were concerned about the impact of false information online, followed by “foreign money being used to influence politics in Canada” (cited by 66%) and “foreign countries or groups using social media and other means to influence the political opinions of Canadians” (65%)..Pollsters from Elections Canada also found the majority of Canadians, specifically 65%, believe the federal government does “not care what people like them think.” More than a quarter, 26%, “strongly agreed” the federal government was indifferent to their concerns..“Respondents living in Alberta (74%) and Manitoba and Saskatchewan (71%) were more likely to agree while those living in Québec (58%) were less likely to agree,” said the report..“Respondents with some college or trade education were more likely to agree.”.Asked, “How much confidence, if any, do you have in institutions in Canada?” 72% said they had confidence in the police. Only 53% expressed confidence in the federal government, followed by “mainstream media” (49%) and corporations (35%)..In a survey of Canadians, only 10% mentioned having a "great deal of confidence" in the federal government. On the other hand, 44% indicated having little or no confidence, while 43% had "a fair amount of confidence."
