Secondary analysis. The secondary analysis used data from Elections Canada's National Electors Study 2019 (NES 2019) and provided insight into segments of electors and reasoning behind voting or not voting. This analysis focused on 10 groups of electors, including voters and potential voters (those who are open to voting but haven't recently). Each group was profiled in terms of responses to a set of indicators covering the electoral process, reasons for not voting, effort to vote and perceptions of difficulty, demographics and psychographics. This secondary analysis helped guide the design of qualitative research and eventual persona development.
The qualitative phase of this project included a two-day bulletin board and in-depth interviews.
Bulletin board. The bulletin board hosted 62 Canadians and took place between August 10 and 13, 2021. The Recollective online bulletin board platform produced an asynchronous threaded discussion that developed as participants completed the research. The full set of questions was programmed in advance. Once participants answered the specific questions allotted for the day, they returned the next day to complete the next set of questions. Participants who took part in the two-day bulletin board exercise received a $125 honorarium to thank them for their commitment.
Participants were recruited to represent the Canadian electorate, finding balance among age groups, regions, gender, and level of tech-savviness (meaning level of comfort using computers, cell phones, and the internet).
| Group description | Number of participants who completed bulletin board |
|---|---|
| TOTAL | 62 |
| Language | |
| English | 47 |
| French | 15 |
| Voters | |
| Voters | 40 |
| Non-voters | 22 |
| Age | |
| 18–24 | 17 |
| 25–34 | 12 |
| 35–44 | 4 |
| 45–54 | 11 |
| 55–64 | 5 |
| 65–74 | 9 |
| 75+ | 4 |
| Region | |
| B.C./Alberta | 18 |
| Manitoba/Saskatchewan | 6 |
| Ontario | 17 |
| Quebec | 15 |
| Atlantic provinces | 6 |
| Gender | |
| Men | 28 |
| Women | 34 |
| Non-binary or trans identity | 0 |
| Target group | |
| Lower tech-savviness | 4 |
| First Nations on-reserve | 0 |
| First Nations off-reserve | 2 |
| Western Métis | 1 |
| Inuit | 0 |
| New Canadian from a country with a functioning but different electoral democracy | 1 |
| New Canadian from a country with weak or non-existent electoral democracy | 1 |
| Snowbirds | 7 |
| Electors with a moderate or severe mobility limitation | 7 |
| Electors with a moderate or severe visual disability | 3 |
| Electors with a moderate or severe mental health diagnosis | 6 |
Interviews. A total of 26 in-depth individual interviews (IDIs) were conducted between November 2, 2021 and January 14, 2022, with Canadians representing specific populations of interest and fulfilling quotas not met in the bulletin boards, including: newcomers (6), those with low literacy (4), those with no home internet access (4), Inuit (4), First Nations on/off reserve (6), those who are transgender or non-binary (4) and those with low technology skills (2). It is important to note that these are not mutually exclusive categories; for example, a few of the no home internet access respondents had low tech skills, and some of the Indigenous respondents were also transgender.
The interviewees were recruited through service organizations across Canada. The interviews were conducted over the phone at times convenient for the respondents. The in-depth interviews were approximately 30 minutes in length. Each participant was provided with a $75 cash incentive as a thank you for their time.
| Target group | Total | English | French | Other language | Service organization | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indigenous electors | ||||||
| Inuit | 4 | 4 | - | - | Ilinniapaa Skills Development Centre | Nov 2, 5 Dec 8 |
| First Nations on- or off-reserve | 6 | 6 | - | - | St. Mary's Wolastoqiyik; Tobique First Nation | Jan 6, 14 |
| Canadian newcomers | ||||||
| Newcomer – weak democracy | 2 | 2 | - | - | Institute for Canadian Citizenship | Nov 9, 10 |
| Newcomer – functioning democracy | 4 | 4 | - | - | Institute for Canadian Citizenship | Nov 12, 16, 19 |
| Other | ||||||
| Low literacy | 4 | - | - | 4 | Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre (OCCSC) | Dec 20 Jan 6 |
| No home internet access | 4 | 4 | - | - | EMBERS Eastside Works | Dec 7 |
| Low technology skills | 2 | 2 | - | - | EMBERS Eastside Works | Dec 7 |
| Transgender/non-binary | 4 | 4 | - | - | QMUNITY, B.C.'s Queer, Trans, & Two-Spirit Resource Centre | Nov 2 Dec 23 Jan 6 |
Bulletin board: Environics developed the recruitment screener and provided it to Elections Canada for review prior to finalizing. Participants were screened to ensure they were eligible to vote. Participants were also screened to ensure the participants included a mix of gender, age, region and that they would be comfortable expressing their thoughts with the moderator.
Additional IDIs: In order to connect with Canadians who are challenging to reach through online panels, Environics reached out to organizations that provide programs and services to the target populations of interest. In addition, Environics benefitted from Elections Canada's network, which was utilized to provide further organizational contacts and support. This is a recruitment approach that has proven to be successful with hard-to-reach audiences.
Transcripts from bulletin boards and IDIs were used for subsequent analysis by the research team. During the recruitment process, participants provided consent to use their answers for analysis and were assured of their anonymity.
All qualitative research work was conducted in accordance with professional standards and applicable government legislation (i.e. PIPEDA). The survey was registered with the Research Verification Service (RVS) of the Canadian Research Insight Council (CRIC) to allow participants to verify the legitimacy of the research, register a complaint, get information about the survey industry, or ask technical questions about the research.