Elections Canada (EC), headed by the CEO, an agent of Parliament, is an independent, non-partisan agency that reports directly to Parliament. EC exercises general direction and supervision over the conduct of elections and referendums at the federal level.
EC required the services of a public opinion research supplier to conduct research, to learn about candidates' experiences with the electoral process in general, and to measure their levels of satisfaction with Elections Canada's services during the 44th GE.
The research objectives are to assess candidates' views and satisfaction regarding:
This research was conducted as part of the evaluation and development of EC's programs and services to candidates, and to inform the CEO's reports to Parliament. The survey results will assist in the evaluation of EC's programs and services, notably by allowing for comparisons over time with previous federal general elections. It will also assist in identifying areas where EC's various products and services may be improved.
Environics conducted a survey of candidates in the 44th federal general election, held September 20, 2021, through a mixed-mode survey: The respondents could choose to do a self-administered online questionnaire or an interviewer-guided telephone survey.
Elections Canada provided Environics with contact information for all 2,010 confirmed candidates in the 2021 federal election. All candidates were invited to participate in the survey. A total of 1,075 candidates completed the survey, representing 53% of all candidates. The telephone survey was conducted from September 24 to November 18, 2021, and the online survey from September 27 to November 18, 2021. By close of fieldwork, 643 (60%) completed the survey online and 432 (40%) completed it by telephone.
As an attempted census rather than a sample survey, no margin of sampling error applies.
The participating respondents have the following regional distribution:
| Breakdown/location | Total | BC | AB | Prairies/Terr | ON | QC | ATL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of completed interviews | 1,075 | 120 | 102 | 91 | 369 | 303 | 90 |
| % of completed interviews | 100% | 11% | 9% | 8% | 34% | 28% | 8% |
| % of total contacts | 100% | 12% | 10% | 8% | 34% | 28% | 8% |
To minimize the impacts of non-response as a source of error, Environics weighted the survey results by candidate age and party, as well as whether the candidate was an incumbent and whether or not they were elected, to reflect the population characteristics of all candidates. Environics reviewed and coded the open-ended responses and created banner tables to present results by key characteristics (e.g. region, age, gender, language, parties represented in the House of Commons versus those not represented, election outcome, and incumbency status). The survey tables are available under separate cover.
Environics worked with Elections Canada to update the questionnaire and add questions to address updated study objectives. It underwent numerous iterations prior to approval and translation. Environics also drafted the invitation email and reminders. EC was responsible for translation of all materials.
The survey content was the same across modes. The online survey median length was 15.3 minutes, and the average was 17.7 minutes; the telephone survey median length was 22.3 minutes, and the average was 24.2 minutes. Research instruments are provided in Appendix B.
Prior to the launch of the survey of candidates, Environics arranged to conduct a pre-test in both official languages, using both telephone and online methodologies. Due to the limited number of contacts available, the availability of the respondents, and the fact that the candidates could select their preferred modes, the pre-test took place over several days.
To conduct the pre-test, Environics selected a limited number of candidate records, with a focus on those not having email addresses on file. These candidates were telephoned, using their preferred official language, and offered their choice of either telephone or online survey completion modes.
The telephone pre-test was conducted from September 23 to 27, 2021. Five English and five French interview recordings were provided to EC for review. Following this, some minor technical and interviewer briefing changes were made.
The online pre-test was conducted from September 27 to October 1, 2021. Results from 12 English and five French surveys were provided to EC.
Following review of the top-line results, EC authorized the full launch of both modes of the survey to proceed on October 4, 2021.
The survey was conducted according to the following procedures:
All respondents were offered the opportunity to complete the survey in their official language of choice. All research work was conducted in accordance with the Standards for the Conduct of Government of Canada Public Opinion Research for Telephone and Online Surveys, as well as applicable federal legislation (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, or PIPEDA). Environics registered the survey with the Research Verification Service (RVS) of the Canadian Research Insight Council (CRIC) to allow participants to verify the legitimacy of the survey, register a complaint, get information about the survey industry or ask technical questions about the survey.
Following data collection and prior to analysis, the telephone and online survey data were merged and data analysts performed a data-cleaning and validation process in accordance with industry standards. Open-ended question data were coded, and Environics designed banner tables in consultation with the project authority. Data tables were submitted in Excel and CSV format; verbatim comments were provided to EC in the original official language of the respondent.
This survey consisted of 1,075 interviews with candidates from a list of 2,010 unduplicated records, or 53% of all candidates overall. By mode, 643 respondents completed the survey online (60%) and 432 completed by telephone (40%). Because respondents were offered a choice of mode and there was overlap in invitations by mode, standard GOC response rate calculations cannot be used.
In all surveys there is a potential impact of non-sampling error due to uneven non-response among groups. The following table shows unweighted characteristics of respondents compared to the full candidate population. The respondents were weighted to the all-candidates proportions to address any discrepancies.
The distribution of response was extremely close to the universe proportions, with the most notable difference being that a lower proportion of independent candidates took part than their proportion of the candidate population, while smaller parties were more likely to respond.
| Characteristic | Respondents | All candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Age | ||
| <35 | 18% | 19% |
| 35-49 | 32% | 33% |
| 50-59 | 28% | 26% |
| 60+ | 23% | 21% |
| Political Party | ||
| Liberal | 17% | 17% |
| Conservative | 17% | 17% |
| People's Party | 16% | 16% |
| NDP | 17% | 17% |
| Green Party | 15% | 13% |
| Bloc Quebecois (QC only) | 4% | 4% |
| Other parties | 11% | 4% |
| Independent | 4% | 13% |
| Incumbent | ||
| Yes | 13% | 15% |
| No | 87% | 85% |
| Elected | ||
| Yes | 14% | 17% |
| No | 86% | 83% |