Canadian Election Survey, 1997

Résumé 0

For this survey of Canadians' political attitudes and voting behavior, citizens 18 years of age or older who spoke one of Canada's official languages (English or French) and who resided in private homes in the ten Canadian provinces and two territories were eligible to be surveyed. The survey included three components: the Campaign-Period Survey (CPS), the Post-Election Survey (PES), and the Mail-Back Survey (MBS). Approximately 110 interviews were completed each day of the CPS for a total of 3,949 interviews. Eighty percent, or 3,170 of the CPS respondents, completed the PES survey, and 1,857 of the PES respondents completed the MBS. The CPS respondents were queried on their voting intentions, interest in the election and its media coverage, whether parties/candidates had contacted them during the campaign, the state of the economy, knowledge of the parties and leaders, personal stances on major policy issues such as cutting taxes, maintaining social programs, and Quebec, assessment of the Liberal government, and electoral expectations. Specific questions on political actions and personal character were posed regarding Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Conservative Party Leader Jean Charest, New Democratic Party Leader Alexa McDonough, Reform Party Leader Preston Manning, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe, Premier Lucien Bouchard, and former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. The PES repeated many of the CPS questions, and addressed additional topics such as government spending, social issues including abortion, unions, businesses, education, health care, and capital punishment, Quebec separation, and attitudes towards social groups including big business, feminists, and aboriginal peoples. The MBS dealt with broader political issues and values, including the respondents' confidence in institutions, the distribution of power among various societal groups, and individual rights. Background information on respondents includes age, sex, ethnicity, political party, political orientation, voter participation history, education, marital status, religion, employment status, household income, union membership, country of birth, knowledge of Canadian political history, financial status, and disability status.