Parks Canada Awareness Tracking Study 2014-2015

POR Number: POR 005-14
Contract Number: 5P034-140063/001/CY  Quantitative
Award Date: May 1, 2014
Delivery Date: March 30, 2015
Contract Value: $99,096.41 (including HST)

Quantitative Research Report

Prepared for Parks Canada Agency

30, Victoria Street, Gatineau (Qc) J8X 0B3
information@pc.gc.ca
1-888-773-8888
Ce rapport est aussi disponible en français sur demande

Proprietary Warning

Any material or information provided by Parks Canada and all data collected by Harris/Decima will be treated as confidential by Harris/Decima and will be stored securely while on Harris/Decima's premise (adhering to industry standards and applicable laws).

OTTAWA
1800-160 Elgin St.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K2P 2P7
Tel: (613) 230-2200
Fax: (613) 230-3793

MONTRÉAL
400-1080 Beaver Hall Hill
Montréal, Québec, Canada
H2Z 1S8
Tel: (514) 288-0037
Fax: (514) 288-0138

TORONTO
405-2345 Yonge St.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M4P 2E5
Tel: (416) 962-2013
Fax: (416) 962-0505

Table of contents

• Executive Summary
• Résumé Exécutif
• Introduction
• Detailed Findings
  • A – Awareness of Parks Canada
  • B – Recent Messaging
  • C – Opinions and Support of Parks Canada
• Conclusions
• Appendix A: Project Methodology
• Appendix B: Questionnaires
• Appendix C: Data Tables

Executive summary

This report presents the results and findings from the 2014-2015 Awareness Tracking Study conducted by Harris/Decima, on behalf of Parks Canada Agency. Telephone interviews were conducted as part of Harris/Decima’s telephone omnibus in June 2014 (n=2,193, between June 19th and 29th, 2014), September/October 2014 (n=2,176, between September 25th and October 5th, 2014), December 2014 (n=2,190, between December 4th and 15th, 2014), and March 2015 (n=2,209, between March 5th to 15th, 2015). Interviews were conducted in the respondent’s choice of English or French.

The margin of error for each study wave was ± 2.1%, 19 times out of 20, and the resultant margin of error for the combined tracking period was ± 1.1%, 19 times out of 20.

The study was designed to target a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adult Canadians (aged 18 and over) per study and oversamples (where necessary) to obtain 250 adults each wave from three CMAs – Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Parks Canada employs the Awareness Tracking Survey to measure and track on an on-going basis awareness of Parks Canada and its logo among Canadians, as well as to understand Canadians’ opinions and support of the Agency.

This executive summary outlines the major findings from the 2014-2015 surveys.

Awareness of Parks Canada

Strong public awareness of Parks Canada, its agency name, and its logo, remained strong through the 2014-2015 tracking period:

• Unaided awareness remained stable, and ‘Parks Canada’ remains the top agency name mentioned. Across Canada, a quarter of residents (22%) correctly identified Parks Canada as the organization or government department that operates officially designated National Parks and National Historic Sites of Canada without prompting.
• Total awareness (unaided plus aided) of Parks Canada remained stable from June until September, and rose in March. The vast majority (84%) of Canadians were aware of Parks Canada in March. This is an improvement over the three previous study waves (ranging from 81% to 82%).
• Awareness of the ‘Beaver’ logo was stable. Awareness of Parks Canada’s corporate logo was 24% in September and 22% in March.
• Awareness tended to be higher in Alberta and Atlantic Canada, and lower in Quebec. For both the Agency name and logo, awareness is higher in Alberta and Atlantic Canada.  Residents in Quebec are less aware of the Agency name than the national average.

Recall of Recent Messaging

Parks Canada aims to promote its work with Canadians through a variety of channels. Key findings for how Canadians learn about the Agency are outlined below:

• Half of Canadians had heard something about Parks Canada in the last three months, when asked. Nationally, 48% of Canadians said that they had heard, read or watched something about Parks Canada, National Historic Sites or National Parks in the past three months. This result peaked in June for Parks Canada and National Parks, and in September for National Historic Sites.  All three measures then trended downward until March.
• There was regional variation in recall of Parks Canada information and learning. Similar to trends seen in general awareness, Canadians in Alberta and Atlantic Canada had higher levels of recall, while levels were significantly lower in Quebec.
• Television was the source mentioned most often, and remained fairly stable over the tracking period. Rounding out the top three sources of information were newspapers and websites other than the Parks Canada website.
• Canadians remembered hearing about a broad variety of topics related to Parks Canada. Information about specific National Parks and National Historic Sites was recalled most often. Wildlife and environmental protection and opening new parks/sites were other topics mentioned more frequently than others.

Opinions and Support of Parks Canada

Canadians have positive and supportive attitudes toward National Parks and National Historic Sites:

• Opinions of Parks Canada were favourable, and remained stable over the tracking period. Overall, nearly three quarters (73%) of Canadians had a favourable opinion of Parks Canada.  This result was consistent in each study wave.
• Albertans had more positive attitudes toward Parks Canada. In each of the waves tested, residents in Alberta reported more favourable opinions of Parks Canada than the national average.
• Canadians were avid supporters of the Parks Canada mandate. Over the tracking period, eight in ten (79%) respondents said they supported Parks Canada’s mandate. While there was some fluctuation in the intensity of that support, the percentage of Canadians who opposed the mandate remained stable (at 2-3%).
• Residents of Quebec tended to have lower levels of support of Parks Canada’s mandate. Excluding March, where the results were in line with the national average, Quebecers reported lower levels of support than the national average across the tracking period.

Research Firm: Harris/Decima Inc.
Contract Number: 5P034-130343-001-CY Quantitative
Contract Award Date: May 1, 2014
Contract Value: $99,096.41 (including HST)

I hereby certify as Senior Officer of Harris/Decima Inc. that the deliverables fully comply with the
Government of Canada political neutrality requirements outlined in the Communications Policy of the
Government of Canada and Procedures for Planning and Contracting Public Opinion Research.
Specifically, the deliverables do not include information on electoral voting intentions, political party
preferences, standings with the electorate or ratings of the performance of apolitical party or its
leaders.

Danielle Armengaud, Research Director
Harris/Decima Inc

Résumé Exécutif

Introduction

Harris/Decima Inc. is pleased to present this report to Parks Canada Agency (PCA) highlighting the results of the 2014-2015 Awareness Tracking Study.

PCA is the federal Agency in the Government of Canada responsible for protecting nationally significant examples of Canada’s national and cultural heritage, and fostering opportunities for Canadians to learn about and to enjoy Canada’s National Parks, National Historic Sites and National Marine Conservation Areas in ways that leave them unimpaired for current and future generations. Canada’s National Parks, National Historic Sites, and National Marine Conservation Areas attract over 20 million Canadian and international visitors annually.

PCA employs the Awareness Tracking Survey to measure and track, on an on-going basis, awareness of Parks Canada and its logo among Canadians, as well as to understand Canadians’ opinions and support of the Agency.

To meet these objectives, Harris/Decima conducted telephone interviews as part of omnibus surveys in June 2014 (n=2,193, between June 19^th and 29^th, 2014), September/October 2014 (n=2,176, between September 25^th and October 5^th, 2014), December 2014 (n=2,190, between December 4^th and 15^th, 2014), and March 2015 (n=2,209, between March 5^th to 15^th, 2015). The study was designed to target a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adult Canadians (aged 18 and over) per study and oversamples (where necessary) to obtain 250 adults each wave from three CMAs – Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.

The margin of error for each study wave was ±2.1%, 19 times out of 20, and the resultant margin of error for the combined tracking period was ±1.1%, 19 times out of 20.

The report begins with an executive summary highlighting the key findings from the research. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the results. Appended to this report are a detailed project methodology (Appendix A), the English and French questionnaires (Appendix B), and data tables (Appendix C).

The total cost of the research was $99,096.41 (including HST).

Danielle Armengaud, Research Director
Harris/Decima Inc

Detailed Findings

This report is divided into three sections. Section A discusses the awareness results, including agency name and logo.  Recall of messaging about Parks Canada, National Parks and National Historic Sites are detailed in section B. Lastly, section C explores Canadians’ overall opinion of Parks Canada, and support of its mandate.

Where appropriate, results were compared across study waves, regions and select Census Metropolitan Areas. Significant differences are denoted using orange circles and blue squares. Orange circles indicate a result that is significantly higher than comparison groups, while blue squares indicate a result that is significantly lower. Please note that percentages shown in the graphs may differ slightly from percentages shown in the tables (Appendix C) due to rounding.

A – Awareness of Parks Canada

The first section of this report focuses on Canadians’ awareness of Parks Canada, including the agency name and logo. National and regional results are examined in detail within the chapter.

Awareness of Parks Canada

Respondents were asked to name the organization or government department that operates officially designated National Parks and National Historic Sites of Canada.

As shown in Exhibit A1, over two in ten (22%) Canadians correctly identified ‘Parks Canada’ without prompting. This result remained stable across the four study waves.

Q1. To the best of your knowledge, what is the name of the organization or government department that operates officially designated national parks and national historic sites of Canada?
Base: All respondents
Note: Orange circles denote results that are significantly higher than the national results; blue squares denote results that are significantly lower than the national results.

While ‘Parks Canada’ was mentioned by more Canadians than any other agency name, fully half (51%) of respondents were unable to identify any agency name when asked (see Exhibit A2). Similar levels of Canadians said they did not know the agency name across each of the four study waves.

Q1. To the best of your knowledge, what is the name of the organization or government department that operates officially designated national parks and national historic sites of Canada?
Base: All respondents
Note: Orange circles denote results that are significantly higher than the national results; blue squares denote results that are significantly lower than the national results.

Looking across regions, unaided awareness was above the national average in Alberta in June and September (34% and 33%, respectively), and in Atlantic Canada in March (30%).  Results in Quebec in June (at 18%) and Manitoba/Saskatchewan in December (at 13%) were lower than the national average.  Yearly trends show that unaided awareness of Parks Canada in Alberta and Atlantic Canada typically sit above the national average, whereas unaided awareness tends to be somewhat lower in Quebec and Ontario (see Exhibit A3).

Q1. To the best of your knowledge, what is the name of the organization or government department that operates officially designated national parks and national historic sites of Canada?
Base: All respondents
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results.

Unaided awareness of Parks Canada results by Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) are shown in Exhibit A4. Much like their respective provinces, unaided awareness in Vancouver (20%) tends to be similar to the national average, whereas results in Toronto (16%) and Montreal (19%) sit somewhat lower than the national average, wave-over-wave.

Q1. To the best of your knowledge, what is the name of the organization or government department that operates officially designated national parks and national historic sites of Canada?
Base: All respondents
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results.

To capture total awareness of Parks Canada, respondents who did not correctly identify the Agency in the first unaided question were asked directly whether they had ever heard of Parks Canada.  Total awareness is calculated by adding unaided awareness (question 1) and aided awareness (question 2).  The results shown in Exhibit A5 reveal that overall awareness has been steady for the 2014-15 tracking period.

While two in ten Canadians throughout the study year were aware of Parks Canada on an unaided basis, six in ten (ranging from 58% to 62%, wave-over-wave) were aware of Parks Canada when prompted. In total, eight in ten (ranging from 81% to 84%) Canadians were aware of Parks Canada over the tracking period.  Total awareness in March was significantly higher than the tracking average, due to an increase in aided awareness (58% in December compared to 62% in March).

Q1. To the best of your knowledge, what is the name of the organization or government department that operates officially designated national parks and national historic sites of Canada?
Base: Have you heard of Parks Canada, which is a federal government agency?
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results.

As Exhibit A6 shows, total awareness varies considerably across the different regions. Virtually all (91% to 97%, wave-over-wave) respondents in Alberta were aware of the agency. Total awareness was also very high in Atlantic Canada (82% to 93%), British Columbia (86% to 89%) and the Prairies (84% to 88%). Ontario (78% to 82%) had total awareness scores close to the national average, while Quebec lagged behind (ranging from 70% to 75%).

Q1. To the best of your knowledge, what is the name of the organization or government department that operates officially designated national parks and national historic sites of Canada?
Q2. Have you ever heard of Parks Canada, which is a federal government agency?
Base: All respondents.
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results.

Total awareness of Parks Canada results by CMA are shown in Exhibit A7. Mirroring Quebec as a whole, total awareness in Montreal sits significantly below the national average (ranging from 69% to 74%), wave-over-wave.  Unlike their respective provinces, total awareness in Vancouver was mostly in line with the national average (the exception being December, where results were above average [86% compared to 81%]); and wave-over-wave, total awareness in Toronto was lower than the national average (ranging from 74% to 77%).

Q1. To the best of your knowledge, what is the name of the organization or government department that operates officially designated national parks and national historic sites of Canada?
Q2. Have you ever heard of Parks Canada, which is a federal government agency?
Base: All respondents.
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results. 

Awareness of Parks Canada Corporate Logo

In September and March, Canadians who had heard of Parks Canada were asked if they could recall the Agency’s corporate logo. On average, almost a quarter knew the beaver was the correct answer, while just over half (53%) were unable to provide any response.

Unaided awareness of the logo is shown in Exhibit A8.  Of those who did provide a response, nearly a half (49%) correctly identified ‘Beaver’ as the logo across the two waves. Other common responses were other flora or plants and other animals or fauna. A few respondents mentioned the maple leaf or something else.

Q3: What is the symbol or corporate logo of Parks Canada?
Base: Those who have heard of Parks Canada.
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results. 

Unaided logo awareness varies across Canada. Results are shown in Exhibit A9.  Overall, respondents in Atlantic Canada had the highest awareness of Parks Canada’s logo, with 33% of respondents correctly identifying the beaver in both waves.  Logo awareness was also higher in Alberta (at 29% in March and 39% in September), where fewer respondents indicated they did not know the corporate logo of Parks Canada than the national average (43% and 36% compared to 55% and 51%).  The percentage of Canadians in the other regions and CMAs who correctly identified Parks Canada’s logo was similar to the national average in both waves.

Q3. What is the symbol or corporate logo of Parks Canada?
Base: Those who have heard of Parks Canada.
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results. 

B – Recent Messaging

This section of the report measures Parks Canada’s marketing and outreach in terms of saturation and types of messages being conveyed.

Recall of Recent Messaging

Respondents were asked if they have heard, read or watched anything about Parks Canada, National Parks of Canada or National Historic Sites of Canada within the last three months.  Results are shown in Exhibit B1.

Over the tracking period, nearly half (48%) of respondents had heard, read of watched something about PCA, whether Parks Canada in particular, or/and National Parks of Canada or/and National Historic Sites of Canada.  Specifically, three in ten (28%) Canadians recalled recent messaging about Parks Canada, and one third of Canadians recalled recent messaging about National Parks of Canada or National Historic Sites of Canada (32% and 33%, respectively).

Recall of messaging peaked in June for Parks Canada (at 32%) and National Parks of Canada (at 35%), and in September for National Historic Sites of Canada (at 36%).  Recall then trended downward to their lowest points in March for all three topics (22% for Parks Canada; 27% for National Parks of Canada; and 30% for National Historic Sites of Canada).

Q5. In the past three months, have you heard, read, or watched anything about the following…?
Base: All respondents
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results.  

Recall of recent messaging by region and CMA is shown in Exhibit B2.   Across waves and topics, results vary greatly.  In general, Albertans had higher recall levels of Parks Canada and National Parks in each wave, and Canadians in Atlantic Canada had higher recall of National Historic Sites.  With the exception of June, where the results were in line with the national average, recall of Parks Canada messaging was lower in Quebec and Montreal.

Q5. In the past three months, have you heard, read, or watched anything about the following…?
Base: All respondents (March 2015: n=2,209; December 2014: n=2,190; September 2014: n=2,176; June 2014: n=2,193).
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results.  

Sources of Information

Respondents who recalled hearing, reading, or watching something about PCA were asked to indicate where they had encountered that information; sources of information are detailed in Exhibit B3.

Each study wave in the tracking period had the same top three sources of information.  By far, television was the most mentioned source of Parks-related information, mentioned by nearly half (46%) of those who recall a message over the tracking period. Newspapers were cited by nearly two in ten (18%), and 12% cited websites other than the Parks Canada website as the source of information.  All other sources were mentioned by fewer than 10%.

Q6. Where specifically do you recall hearing, watching or reading something about Parks Canada, National Parks or National Historic Sites?
Base: Those who recalled hearing/reading/watching something in past three months. Multiple response.
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results.  

For those who recalled messaging on television, the most common sources were commercials (17%), the CBC (12%) and unspecified news sources (7%).   The top newspaper sources were the Globe and Mail (9%), The Star/Toronto Star (9%), the Ottawa Citizen (3%) and unspecified local newspapers (3%).  Top magazine sources were Canadian Geographic (7%), Maclean’s (7%), National Geographic (7%), and CAA Magazine (5%). Wave-over-wave, these results were fairly stable throughout the tracking period (see Exhibit B4).

Q6. Where specifically do you recall hearing, watching or reading something about Parks Canada, National Parks or National Historic Sites?
Base: Those who recalled hearing/reading/watching something in past three months. Multiple response.
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results. 

Respondents who recalled hearing, reading, or watching something about Parks Canada were asked to describe the subject matter of that messaging. Responses included a broad variety of topics, as shown in Exhibit B5.

Over the tracking period, the most common topics recalled were positive.  For example, specific National Parks and National Historic Sites were the most common responses (14%), followed by wildlife protection (9%), new parks or historic sites opening (8%) and protecting the environment (8%). More than a quarter (27%) could not recall the subject matter at all.

Q7. And can you tell me what subjects or topics concerning Parks Canada, National Parks or National Historic Sites you recall hearing, reading or watching something about?
Base: Those who recalled hearing/reading/watching something. Multiple response.
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results. 

C – Opinions and Support of Parks Canada

This chapter explores Canadians’ overall opinion of Parks Canada, and Canadians’ support for the Parks Canada mandate.

Overall Opinion of Parks Canada

Canadians were asked to rate their opinion of Parks Canada on a five-point favourability scale.
Exhibit C1 shows the majority of Canadians have a positive opinion of Parks Canada, with nearly three quarters (73%) indicating they have a very favourable or favourable opinion of Parks Canada, and an additional 15% giving a neutral opinion.  Very few (5%) Canadians indicated they had a somewhat unfavourable or very unfavourable opinion of Parks Canada.  There was very little variability in the results wave-over-wave.

Q4: How would you rate your overall opinion of Parks Canada?
Base: Those who have heard of Parks Canada
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results. 

The opinion of Parks Canada is favourable across all regions and CMAs, especially in Alberta, where eight in ten (ranging from 81% to 83%) gave a favourable rating across the tracking period (see Exhibit C2).

Q4. How would you rate your overall opinion of Parks Canada?
Base: Those who have heard of Parks Canada.
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results. 

Support of Parks Canada’s Mandate

“Parks Canada aims to protect and present Canada’s national parks, historic sites and marine conservation areas, and also to promote public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of these places for present and future generations.”

All respondents were read Parks Canada’s mandate, and were asked to rate their level of support of that mandate, using a five-point support scale.  Exhibit C3 details the national wave-by-wave results.

Like the overall opinions of Parks Canada, support of its mandate among Canadians was also very high – eight in ten (79%) Canadians indicated they support the mandate, with an additional 16% holding a neutral position.  Very few (3%) Canadians indicated they oppose or completely oppose the mandate.

While support was high across each study wave, support was higher in June (at 83%) and lower in December (at 75%) than the tracking average.  However, the percentage of Canadians who indicated they opposed the mandate remained consistent wave-over-wave.

Q8. Parks Canada aims to protect and present Canada's national parks, historic sites and marine conservation areas, and also to promote public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of these places for present and future generations. On a 5 point scale, where 1 means completely oppose, 3 means neither support nor oppose and 5 means completely support, please tell me how much you oppose or support this mandate.
Base: All respondents.
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results. 

Exhibit C4 details the level of support of Parks Canada’s mandate by region and CMA.  Support is high across all regions and CMAs, however, the intensity of that support tends to be lower in Quebec, than the national average.  Some additional variability in the results appeared across study waves, however, there were no other clear trends.

Q8. Parks Canada aims to protect and present Canada's national parks, historic sites and marine conservation areas, and also to promote public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of these places for present and future generations. On a 5 point scale, where 1 means completely oppose, 3 means neither support nor oppose and 5 means completely support, please tell me how much you oppose or support this mandate.
Base: All respondents.
Note: ** denotes results that are significantly higher than the national results; * denotes results that are significantly lower than the national results. 

Conclusions

There are a few key results from the 2014-2015 Awareness Tracking Study:

Parks Canada’s outreach efforts are maintaining its presence in the public eye, in terms of recognition of the Agency name and its corporate logo. Both results remained fairly stable throughout the tracking period, and the March total awareness results suggest an improvement, which Parks Canada can aim to sustain or build upon going forward.  

There are notable regional variations in awareness and recall of messaging from Parks Canada. Canadians in Alberta and Atlantic Canada tend to be more engaged with Parks Canada than those in other regions, and residents in Quebec tend to be the least engaged. 

Canadians have positive opinions of Parks Canada, and show strong levels of support for the Agency’s mandate. Nationally, the vast majority of Canadians have a favourable opinion of Parks Canada, and the Agency has very few detractors.  This is mirrored by a very high level of support for the mandate, again, along with only a small handful of detractors.

Recall of recent messaging about Parks Canada Agency saw steady declines throughout the survey period. More research should be undertaken to confirm whether these results follow a cyclical pattern where recall is naturally higher in June and lower in March and whether results can be linked to fluctuations in ad buy and campaign launches.

Appendix A: Project Methodology

Quantitative Research

Overview of Methodology

Harris/Decima conducted telephone interviews as part of omnibus surveys in June 2014 (n=2,193, between June 19^th and 29^th, 2014), September/October 2014 (n=2,176, between September 25^th and October 5^th, 2014), December 2014 (n=2,190, between December 4^th and 15^th, 2014), and March 2015 (n=2,209, between March 5^th to 15^th, 2015). The study was designed to target a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adult Canadians (aged 18 and over) per study and oversamples (where necessary) to obtain 250 adults each wave from three CMAs – Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Details of the methodology are outlined below.

Questionnaire Design

The study used a survey of eight core questions. On occasion, specific questions were not included in each wave, however, the final questionnaire maintained a consistent measurement of key performance indicators to ensure comparability with previous results.

Sample Design and Selection

The study was designed to target a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adult Canadians (aged 18 and over) per study and oversamples (where necessary) to obtain 250 adults each wave from three CMAs – Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Both the main sample and the oversample were stratified by age and gender within each region to allow for meaningful sub-group analysis and to ensure that weighting factors stayed within the acceptable research standards.  Additionally, quotas were set to reach Canadians by landline and cell phone, at a ratio of 80% landline interviews to 20% cell phone interviews.

The final sample size was 8,768, distributed fairly evening across the four study waves.  The final sample is outlined in detail in the following tables:

The sample was drawn using SurveySampler technology, which ensures that all residential listings in Canada have an opportunity to be selected for inclusion in the survey. Within the households selected, respondents 18 years or older were screened.

Sample Distribution

A sample of 8,768 drawn from the Canadian population would be expected to provide results accurate to within plus or minus 1.1% percent in 95 out of 100 samples. A complete breakdown of the margin of error can be seen in the sample tables above.

Sample Disposition and Response Rate

A total of 969,328 Canadian households were dialed for this study, of which 8,768 qualified as eligible and completed the survey (adults 18 years and older). The overall response rate achieved for the 2014-2015 study was 1.40%. The following reports on sample disposition and response rate follows MRIA guidelines, which are set up to establish consistency in reporting across the market research industry.

Survey Administration

The telephone survey was conducted with 8,768 respondents in English or French using computer-assisted-telephone-interviewing (CATI) technology, from Harris/Decima's facilities in Ottawa. All interviewing was conducted by fully trained and supervised interviewers, and a minimum of 10% of all completed interviews were independently monitored and validated in real time.

Harris/Decima informed all survey participants of the general purpose of the research, identified the research supplier, informed participants that their participation in the study was voluntary, and that all information provided would remain confidential. Furthermore, the survey was registered with the National Survey Registration System.

Harris/Decima used Confirmit’s “Horizon” CATI program for data collection. The software provided complete control over entry flow, including skips, valid ranges, and logical error-trapping. The “Horizon” system imported sample directly from databases – no need for re-entry and no entry errors. Moreover, the system automated all scheduling and call-back tasks, ensuring that every appointment was set within project time limitations and that an interviewer was available for every call-back.

Data Analysis

Upon completion of data collection, Harris/Decima cleaned, coded, and weighted the data. The data was then tabulated according to the analysis plan provided by PCA. Our data analysis procedures are outlined below:

Data Validity and Integrity Checks: Our custom system immediately identifies cases where the interview length is unrealistically short, contradicts established facts or presents patterns of response deserving attention. As a result, we can determine whether a case should be excluded from the final sample if necessary. All of these checks are performed manually and cleaned out of the data in the back end of the project. Harris/Decima uses a checklist to ensure all data that is delivered to the client has gone through a rigorous quality control process.

Data Cleaning: Harris/Decima analysts have considerable experience in cleaning data files, conducting statistical routines, producing tabular output, and weighting data to provide an accurate measure of the population as a whole.

The following are the basic steps taken when cleaning data files:

• Ensure that all coded questions have updated codes and multiple mentions do not have duplicate codes;
• Create all new variables as a result of programming;
• Confirm that all relevant variables are included in the data file;
• Final frequency check (for out-of-range values) and recodes created, including those for outliers;
• Verify that variable names and question numbers match the final version of the questionnaire; and
• Create and verify new variable creations (against source variables) as outlined in the analysis plan and perform spell check on all variables.

In addition to these generic rules, project specific requirements are also taken into account. It is also noteworthy that because the CATI software controls the questionnaire flow and data entry, data are typically quite clean from the outset.

Coding Procedures: The coding department takes the verbatim responses and creates a numeric code list of common answers. Our head coder, in close conjunction with the consulting team, collapses lists of responses to open-ended variables into categories. A single coder is used to maximize consistency on this task. The rough frequencies obtained from this exercise are used to develop a code list. Once final approval is granted, the code list is annotated with specific examples so that accurate coding is assured.

The annotated code list is provided to our coding team, which attaches codes directly to the electronic coding file. This exercise can also be performed in a two-pass format, by two different coders. The head coder reconciles inconsistencies, guaranteeing consistent and accurate reporting of open-ended responses. In general, Harris/Decima aims for less than 10% of responses remaining under a ‘other specify’ code category, creating codes for any mentions that add up to 1% or more of total responses. The resulting data file is exported to the statistical package to quantify the responses for statistical analysis. The generated code lists are submitted to the client for approval and subsequently we use our internal quality assurance lists to verify that all approved codes have been coded correctly.

For the purposes of this project, the coding team was provided with lists of National Parks and National Historic Sites administered by Parks Canada. The destination coding scheme was designed to differentiate between these places, and other mentions. The coding team also referred to the coding scheme for PCA’s tracking study in order to ensure consistency where relevant.

Weighting: At the conclusion of the data collection and cleaning, Harris/Decima weighted the data by region, age and gender to reflect the actual proportions found in the population. This ensured the findings from the research could be extrapolated to the entire population with accuracy. Harris/Decima uses a standard procedure for calculating weighting factors, based on established methodological standards and extensive experience in sample weighting over hundreds of projects (including many for the Government of Canada).

This procedure involves calculating the actual population within each segment and the true proportion of the sample that would fall into each segment if the survey were conducted on strictly a random basis. Into this number is divided the actual segment sub-sample to produce a weighting factor that is then used to “weight” the data for that segment. While there are various ways of accomplishing this task, this procedure is the most straightforward and effective.

Data Analysis: Harris/Decima prepared analysis that included key banner breaks outlined by the analysis plan provided by PCA. Once the survey data had been collected and cleaned, Harris/Decima ran a series of data tables that provided results for all questions in the survey, both overall and broken down by selected “banners.” This permitted the comparison of results from various sub-group segments of interest; statistical significance testing was shown between all banner points in the data tables. The analysis plan included banners for basic segments including age, gender, region, and community. Additional breaks were added for immigrant status and origin, awareness of Parks Canada, and other key segments defined by the PCA analysis plan.

Appendix B: Questionnaires

English Questionnaire

Q1. To the best of your knowledge, what is the name of the organization or government department that operates officially designated national parks and national historic sites of Canada?
        [DO NOT READ RESPONSES – CODE ONE ONLY]

            01 – Parks Canada
            02 – Canada Parks
            03 – Canadian National Parks
            04 – Parks department
            05 – Federal government/Government of Canada
            06 – Provincial government
            07 – Environment Canada
            08 – Didn’t know there were national parks
            09 – Didn’t know there were national historic sites
            98 – Other (SPECIFY____________________)
            99 – Don’t know/No answer

[IF Q1 = 01 (PARKS CANADA), SKIP Q2]

Q2. Have you ever heard of Parks Canada, which is a federal government agency?

            01 – Yes, had heard of
            02 – No, had not heard of                       
            99 – Don’t know/No answer                   

[IF Q2 = 02(No) or 99 (DN/NA), SKIP TO Q5]

Q3. What is the symbol or corporate logo of Parks Canada?
        [DO NOT READ – CODE ONE ONLY]

            01 – Beaver
            02 – Maple leaf
            03 – Other animal or fauna
            04 – Other flora or plant
            98 – Other (SPECIFY ____________________)
            99 – Don’t know/No answer

Q4. How would you rate your overall opinion of Parks Canada? Would you say it is …?
        [CODE ONE ONLY]

            01 - Very favourable
            02 - Somewhat favourable
            03 - Neither favourable nor unfavourable
            04 - Somewhat unfavourable
            05 - Very unfavourable
            [VOLUNTEERED]
            99 - Don’t know/No answer

Q5. In the past three months, have you heard, read, or watched anything about the following?
        [Keep 5a first; read and rotate 5b and 5c – repeat scale as required]

                a. Parks Canada [ALWAYS FIRST]
                b. National Parks of Canada
                c. National Historic Sites of Canada

            01 – Yes
            02 – No
            99 – Don’t know/No answer

[IF YES TO ANY AT Q5, ASK Q6 and Q7 / IF Q5 = 02 (No) OR 99 (DN/NA), SKIP Q6 & Q7]

Q6. Where specifically do you recall hearing, watching or reading something about Parks Canada, National Parks or National Historic Sites? [DO NOT READ – CODE ALL THAT APPLY]

            01 – Parks Canada website (www.pc.gc.ca, www.pccamping.ca)
            02 – Parks Canada newsletter
            03 – Magazine article (PROBE FOR SPECIFICS)
            04 – Newspaper article (PROBE FOR SPECIFICS)
            05 – TV program/documentary (PROBE FOR SPECIFICS)
            06 – Movie theatres or cinemas
            07 – From friends/family members
            08 – Events/concerts
            09 – Trade Shows
            10 – Street displays/vignettes
            11 – Social media (Facebook, YouTube, Myspace, Twitter)
            12 – Other website
            98 – Other (SPECIFY ______________)
            99 – Don’t know/No answer

Q7.      And can you tell me what subjects or topics concerning Parks Canada, National Parks or National Historic Sites you recall hearing, reading or watching something about?
[DO NOT READ – CODE UP TO THREE RESPONSES]

NET: CREATION/CONSERVATION
            01 – New parks/historic sites opening (e.g. Sable Island, Rouge Park)
            02 – Construction/improvements to existing sites/parks
            03 – Wildlife protection (reintroducing species, culls)
            04 – Protecting the environment (general)
            05 – Shipwrecks/archaeology/arctic exploration (Search for Franklin, Artic shipwrecks,
                   Erebus & Terror, underwater archeology in North, Franklin Project-museum)

NET: OUTREACH AND VISITATION
            06 – Increasing entrance fees/accommodation fees
            07 – Improved/more accommodations at parks (camping, tepees, yurts)
            08 – Anniversary celebrations – WW1 & WW2 commemoration events,
                   Empress of Ireland commemoration, Canadian Confederation events, Parks Day
            09 – New activities at historic sites/parks
            10 – Aboriginal/cultural events/activities
            11 – Television show
            12 – Books (National Geographic - Guide to National Parks in Canada, Canada's National Parks - A             Celebration)
            13 – Newspaper features on specific parks/historic sites
            14 – Education/outreach (general)
            15 – Research (general)
            16 – Wi-Fi access in parks
            17 – Maligne Lake tours/hotel development in Maligne Lake

NET: OTHER MENTIONS
            18 – Merchandising (PCA clothing & merchandising lines, PCA clothing at Hudson’s Bay)
            19 – Public safety (bears, trails, etc.)
            20 – Job opportunities
            21 – Disasters (fires, avalanche, flooding)

            98 – Other (SPECIFY ______________)
            99 – Don’t know/No answer

Q8. Parks Canada aims to protect and present Canada's national parks, historic sites and marine conservation areas, and also to promote public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of these places for present and future generations. 

On a 5 point scale, where one means completely oppose, 3 means neither support nor oppose and 5 means completely support, please tell me how much you oppose or support this mandate. [CODE ONE RESPONSE]

            01 – Completely oppose
            02 –
            03 – Neither support nor oppose
            04 –
            05 – Completely support
            VOLUNTEERED
            99 – DK/NA

French Questionnaire

Q1. À votre connaissance, quel est le nom de l’organisme ou du ministère gouvernemental qui exploite officiellement les parcs nationaux et les lieux historiques nationaux du Canada désignés ?
[NE LISEZ PAS LES CHOIX DE RÉPONSES – CODEZ UNE SEULE RÉPONSE.]

            01 – Parcs Canada
            02 – Canada Parcs
            03 – Parcs nationaux canadiens
            04 – Service des parcs
            05 – Gouvernement fédéral/Gouvernement du Canada
            06 – Gouvernement provincial
            07 – Environnement Canada
            08 – Ne savait pas qu’il y avait des parcs nationaux
            09 – Ne savait pas qu’il y avait des lieux historiques nationaux
            98 – Autre (PRÉCISEZ:)
            99 – Ne sait pas/Pas de réponse

[IF Q1 = 01 (PARKS CANADA), SKIP Q2]

Q2. Avez-vous déjà entendu parler de Parcs Canada, qui est une agence du gouvernement fédéral?

            01 – Oui, en a entendu parler
            02  – Non, n’en a pas entendu parler              
            99  – Ne sait pas/pas de réponse               

[IF Q2 = 02(No) or 99 (DN/NA), SKIP TO Q5]

Q3. Quel est le symbole ou logo de Parcs Canada ?
[NE PAS LIRE – CODER UNE SEULE RÉPONSE]

            01 – Castor
            02 – Feuille d’érable
            03 – Autre animal ou faune
            04 – Autre plante ou flore
            98 – Autre (PRÉCISER  ____________________)
            99 – Ne sait pas/pas de réponse

Q4. Comment évalueriez-vous votre opinion globale de Parcs Canada? Vous diriez qu’elle est…        [CODER UNE SEULE RÉPONSE]

            01 - Très favorable
            02 - Plutôt favorable
            03 - Ni favorable ni défavorable
            04 - Plutôt défavorable
            05 - Très défavorable
            NON SUGGÉRÉ
            99 Ne sait pas/pas de réponse

Q5. Au cours des trois derniers mois, avez-vous entendu, lu ou vu quelque chose au sujet de ce qui suit?
[Keep 5a first; read and rotate 5b and 5c – repeat scale as required]

            a. Parcs Canada [ALWAYS FIRST]
            b. Parcs nationaux du Canada
            c. Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada

            01 – Oui
            02 – Non
            99 – Ne sait pas/pas de réponse

[IF YES TO ANY AT Q5, ASK Q6 and Q7 / IF Q5 = 02 (No) OR 99 (DN/NA), SKIP Q6 & Q7]

Q6. Où vous souvenez­vous précisément d’avoir entendu, lu ou vu quelque chose au sujet de Parcs Canada, des parcs nationaux ou des lieux historiques nationaux?
[NE LISEZ PAS LES CHOIX DE RÉPONSES - CODER TOUTES LES RÉPONSES APPLICABLES]

            01 – Site Web de Parcs Canada (www.pc.gc.ca, www.pccamping.ca)
            02 – Bulletin d’information de Parcs Canada
            03 – Article dans une revue ou un magazine (SONDEZ POUR UNE RÉPONSE PRÉCISE)
            04 – Article dans le journal (SONDEZ POUR UNE RÉPONSE PRÉCISE)
            05 – Émission/documentaire à la télévision (SONDEZ POUR UNE RÉPONSE PRÉCISE)
            06 – Au cinéma
            07 – Des amis ou des membres de la famille
            08 – Événements / concerts
            09 – Expositions / foires commerciales
            10 – Panneaux/Vignettes dans la rue
            11 – Médias sociaux (Facebook, Youtube, Myspace, Twitter)
            12 – Autre site Web
            98 – Autre (PRÉCISER  ______________)
            99 – Ne sait pas/pas de réponse

Q7.  Et, pouvez-vous me dire quels sont les sujets ou les thèmes relatifs aux parcs nationaux ou aux lieux historiques nationaux à propos desquels vous vous souvenez d’avoir entendu, lu ou vu quelque chose?
[NE PAS LIRE – CODER JUSQU’À TROIS RÉPONSES]

        NET : CRÉATION/CONSERVATION
            01 – Ouverture de nouveaux parcs/lieux historiques (p. ex. l’Île de Sable, parc de la Rouge)
            02 – Construction/améliorations de lieux/parcs existants
            03 – Protection des espèces sauvages (réintroduction d’espèces, animaux réformés)
            04 – Protection de l’environnement (en général)
            05 – Exploration d’épaves/ archéologique/en Arctique (À la recherche de Franklin,
                    épaves en Arctique, Erebus & Terror,  archéologie sous-marine dans le Nord, Projet Franklin-musée)

        NET : DIFFUSION ET VISITE
            06 – Augmentation des droits d’entrée/des frais d’hébergement
            07 – Amélioration des sites d’hébergement/Augmentation du nombre de sites d’hébergement
                   dans les parcs (camping, tipis, yourtes)
            08 – Célébrations d’anniversaires – événements commémoratifs des 1ère et 2e guerres mondiales,
                    commémoration de l’Empress of Ireland, événements de la confédération canadienne, Journée des parcs
            09 – Nouvelles activités dans les lieux historiques/parcs
            10 – Événements/activités culturels et autochtones
            11 – Émission de télévision
            12 – Livres (National Geographic - Guide des parcs nationaux du Canada, Les parcs nationaux du Canada – Une  célébration)
            13 – Articles de journaux sur des parcs/lieux historiques précis
            14 – Éducation/diffusion (en général)
            15 – Recherche (en général)
            16 – Accès au réseau Wi-Fi dans les parcs
            17 – Tours du lac Maligne/développement d’hôtel au lac Maligne

        NET: AUTRES MENTIONS
            18 – Marchandisage (lignes de marchandisage et de vêtements de l’APC, vêtements de l’APC à La Baie d’Hudson)
            19 – Sécurité publique (ours, sentiers, etc.)
            20 – Perspectives d’emploi
            21 – Désastres (feux, avalanche, inondation)
            98 – Autre (PRÉCISER ______________)
            99 – [NE SAIT PAS/PAS DE RÉPONSE]

Q8.  Le mandat de Parcs Canada est de protéger et de présenter les parcs nationaux, les lieux historiques et les aires marines de conservation du Canada, ainsi que de favoriser la connaissance, l’appréciation et l’utilisation de ces lieux par le public, qu’il s’agisse des générations actuelles ou des générations futures.

Sur une échelle de 5 points, où 1 signifie que vous vous opposez totalement, 3 signifie que vous n’êtes ni pour ni contre et 5 signifie que vous appuyez totalement, veuillez indiquer dans quelle mesure vous vous opposez à ce mandat ou vous l’appuyez. [NOTER UNE RÉPONSE]

            01 – S’oppose totalement
            02 –
            03 – Ni pour, ni contre
            04 –
            05 – Appuie totalement
            [NON SUGGÉRÉ]
            99 – Ne sait pas

Appendix C: Data Tables

Data table for June 2014 in .csv format

Data table for September 2014 in .csv format

Data table for December 2014 in .csv format

Data table for March 2015 in .csv format