A total of nine focus groups (eight in-person and one virtual) were conducted in October 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. 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. 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 for the participation of youth who lived in remote areas.
To further represent the diversity of Canada's young electors, Environics Research 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. Additionally, in the event an elector had a disability that could prevent them from participating, participants were offered the 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.
Environics Research worked with CRC Research Inc. to recruit the focus group participants. All recruiting was done by telephone by CRC Research's professional team of experienced and trained qualitative research recruiters. In total, there were 104 (96 in-person and 8 virtual) participants recruited to take part in the 9 focus group sessions, 94 (87 in-person and 7 virtual) of whom attended. Participants of in-person groups were paid a $135 honorarium, and participants of the online group were paid a $120 honorarium to thank them for their commitment. People with experience working for EC or as an election officer in the September 20, 2021, federal election were excluded from the study.
Stephanie Coulter, Senior Research Associate, Public Affairs, at Environics Research, moderated five English-language sessions (on 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 remined equally up to date on the trends and procedures. The sessions were distributed as follows:
| Location (Language of groups) | Dates | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto, ON (English) | Tuesday, October 3 | 5:30 p.m. EST – Group #1 7:30 p.m. EST – Group #2 |
| Montréal, QC (French) | Wednesday, October 4 | 5:30 p.m. EST – Group #1 7:30 p.m. EST – Group #2 |
| Vancouver, BC (English) | Thursday, October 5 | 5:30 p.m. PST – Group #1 7:30 p.m. PST – Group #2 |
| Halifax, NS (English) | Tuesday, October 10 | 5:30 p.m. AST – Group #1 7:30 p.m. AST – Group #2 |
| Rural AB/SK/MB, online (English) | Wednesday, October 11 | 7:30 p.m. EST – Group #1 |
In the focus groups, participants were shown two concepts: A (voting is easy) and B (every small X has a huge impact). These two concepts were being tested for future advertising that is designed to inform young Canadians about where, when and the ways they can register and vote in the next federal election. The objective was to gather feedback on the concepts to determine their efficacy and suitability for the intended audience (electors aged 18–24 ).
Video ads for each concept were shown to gather initial impressions on the main message. All formats, i.e. video, radio spot, web banner and social media posts were then presented to gather feedback on the target audience, tone, message clarity, interest level, likes and dislikes and format-specific design elements and actions (click, share, etc.). The participants were then asked to assess and compare the effectiveness of the concepts at informing young Canadians about voting.
Throughout the discussions, the participants' broad perceptions on voting-related issues—such as eligibility, likelihood of voting, perceived challenges and preferences for voting on election day vs. advance polls—were also discussed. Near the end of each session, the participants discussed ways that youth engage with media and information overall. The focus groups were concluded with final comments on reaching and engaging youth about voting.
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 verify that the proposed campaign concepts meet communications objectives, resonate with young electors, are clear and engaging and meet electors' information needs.
All research work was conducted in accordance with professional standards and applicable government legislation (e.g. PIPEDA). All groups were video- and audio-recorded for subsequent analysis by the 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. Industry and Government of Canada standards for qualitative research were followed.
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.