Elections Canada (EC) is an independent, non-partisan agency exercising general direction and supervision over federal-level elections and referenda. One key undertaking toward delivering on its mandate is the Voter Information Campaign, a multi-media communications and information strategy, implemented before and during a federal general election. EC develops advertising and communications campaigns to inform electors about where and when to register to vote as well as ways to do so. This includes information regarding eligibility criteria and required identification. The campaign is comprised of several communications tactics, including direct mail products, an advertising campaign, national and local outreach initiatives, a dedicated general election website, social media initiatives, media relations, and a public enquiries service.
There is a need to pilot EC's new digital campaign, specifically targeting youth, as a complement to the established Voter Information Campaign. EC is testing a limited number of newly developed messages and creative concepts with an aim to ensure that the campaign is engaging and attention-grabbing, that the information on the electoral process is clear and easy to understand, and that the campaign better reflects evolving communications trends and consumption habits of young electors, particularly those aged 18–24.
This research is intended to test the effectiveness of several potential improvements to the current campaign among young Canadian electors, ages 18 to 24 as well as to help develop future Campaigns. It was completed in the form of focus groups representing young electors across Canada, assessing the following areas:
The desired outcome of this research is to verify that the proposed concepts meet communications objectives, resonate with young electors, are clear and engaging, and meet electors' information needs about where, when and the ways to vote. Out of the two concepts presented to participants, concept A will be used as part of the Voter Information Campaign for the next general election (GE45), while concept B is meant to validate if other types of messaging resonate with young electors to help EC develop engaging campaigns for future elections.
A total of nine focus groups (eight in-person and one virtual) were conducted from October 3 to 11, 2023, with young electors aged 18–24. Two in-person sessions were conducted from each of the following regions: Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, and Halifax, at dedicated focus group facilities. In Montréal, focus groups were held in French with French speaking participants to ensure representation from both official languages. EC translated both the recruitment screener and discussion guide into French for the Montréal focus groups.
The virtual group was conducted using the Zoom platform with participants living in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba; additionally, most of these participants were from rural communities. Conducting this group virtually allowed participation of youth who lived in remote areas. To further represent the diversity of Canada's young electors, we ensured that each group had a good mix of different genders, students/non-students, and those who voted/did not vote previously in a federal election. For Toronto, one group consisted entirely of participants who self-identified as white/of European descent and the other group comprised non-white/of non-European descent. Additionally, in the event an elector had a disability that could prevent them from participating, we offered an option of doing individual interviews. However, none of the candidates screened met this criterion. Each in-person session consisted of 10–12 participants while the virtual session had seven participants, and each group lasted about 90 minutes.
Focus groups allowed a group of diverse young Canadian electors to openly share their perceptions and opinions about the campaign with one another in a semi-structured, conversational-style setting. The natural flow of information and ideas helped us to better assess whether the proposed campaign concepts tend to meet communications objectives, resonate with young electors, are clear and engaging, and meet electors' information needs.
Different moderators were used for the English and French groups and, to get access to desired locations, one additional English moderator was used. Stephanie Coulter, Senior Research Associate, Public Affairs, at Environics Research moderated five English-language sessions (October 3, 5 and 11). Derek Leebosh, Vice-President, Public Affairs, at Environics Research moderated two English-language sessions (October 10). Anouk Flambert moderated the two French sessions on October 4. Each focus group session was conducted according to a discussion guide developed in consultation with EC. The focus groups were semi-structured, and moderators included additional probes as needed during the discussions. Moderators shared notes and themes emerging from their respective sessions with one another to ensure everyone remained equally up to date on the trends and procedures.
Environics Research worked with CRC Research Inc. to recruit the focus group participants, and all recruiting was done by telephone. Environics Research recruited participants via industry-standard methods to ensure participation in all regions. In-person participants were offered a $135 incentive while virtual participants were offered a $120 incentive to thank them for their time. People with experience working for EC or as an election officer in the September 20, 2021, federal election were excluded from the study.
All research work was conducted in accordance with professional standards and applicable government legislation (e.g. PIPEDA). Industry and Government of Canada standards for qualitative research were followed. All groups were video- and audio-recorded for use in subsequent analysis by the Environics Research team. During the recruitment process and in the introductory portion of each session, participants provided consent to such recording and were given assurances of anonymity. All recordings and transcripts were stored in a secured SharePoint drive that was managed by the Environics Research team. All recordings and transcripts will be deleted upon the final approval of this report. More details on methodology can be found in Appendix A.
Statement of limitations: Qualitative research provides insight into the range of opinions held within a population, rather than the weights of the opinions held as measured in a quantitative study. The results of this type of research should be viewed as indicative rather than projectable to the population.
This report begins with an executive summary outlining key findings, followed by a detailed analysis of the focus group findings, supported by quotations from the participants. Provided under the appendix are details on methodology, the research instruments used in this project, i.e. screener and discussion guide, and the creative stills as well as text transcription of audio ads.
With the information provided by this public opinion research program, it will be possible to develop and implement a public awareness campaign in an effective and efficient manner. Information obtained through public opinion research will allow EC to optimize the impact of its marketing initiatives.