POR-413-06
Kevin Chappell
Communications Services Division/BCS
Manager, Public Opinion Research & Evaluation
Foreign Affairs Canada
125 Sussex Drive C2-194
Ottawa ON K0A 0G2
e-mail: kevin.chappell@international.gc.ca

Canadian Perceptions of Russia English
Executive Summary

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
March 23, 2007

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Background, Objectives and Approach
  • Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada commissioned this survey with the goal of gauging Canadian public opinion on various aspects of Russian society, economy and other related areas
  • The main objective of the study was to gather information from the Canadian public to understand views, attitudes and perceptions of Russia across the themes of culture, sports, politics, trade and security
  • The research consisted of a national telephone survey of Canadians, 18 years or older. A total of 1,208 surveys were completed. The margin of error of +/-2.8% (95% confidence) allows the survey results to be extrapolated to the Canadian population with a high degree of reliability.
• Perceptions of Russia
  • Most Canadians have a neutral or positive perception of Russia. Only a small minority have negative views of the country.
  • Canadians do not strongly associate Russia with any one attribute; the country conjures up different images for different people, with severe (winter) weather, communism, and political associations being the most common.
• Canada-Russia Relations
  • A majority of Canadians are in favour of Canada providing Russia with training and management expertise in a variety of areas; however, the opposite is true with respect to financial support (for NGOs).
• Trade and Investment
  • Approximately two thirds of Canadians not only believe that the Russian market could be significant for Canadian businesses but that the Canadian government should encourage Canadians to do business there. However, a similar proportion acknowledge that the business environment in Russia is difficult.
  • Russia is considered by most Canadians to be a competitor in the production of raw materials in the global market
• Security
  • The threat of the use of Russian made weapons of mass destruction by terrorists or unfriendly countries is of concern to a majority of Canadians, as is the potential for Russian weapons scientists working for terrorists or unfriendly countries.
  • Overall awareness of the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction is relatively low, and awareness of specific areas of the Partnership is almost non-existent. However, once made aware of what the Partnership entails, a large majority of Canadians support the initiative