Political theatre in the provinces with majority in Ottawa
OTTAWA—This year was a good one for the incumbent. Though the newfound strength of the New Democrats shook things up federally and in the provincial elections in Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador, incumbent governments were re-elected across the country. Whether it was the federal Conservatives, the five re-elected provincial premiers, or the mayor of […]
New politics of the oil sands won’t be about the environment
OTTAWA—Last December, in a column I wrote in this paper, I reported the results of a survey Abacus Data conducted on the oil sands and the early debate over ethical oil. Since plenty has happened since last December in the energy industry, I thought the topic was worth another look. In about a […]
Provincial elections muddy methodological waters
OTTAWA—The results of the 2011 federal election campaign seemed to confirm the conventional wisdom of the polling industry. Telephone polls performed best, some online polls did well while others floundered, and the interactive voice response (IVR) surveys struggled. And though the polls underestimated Conservative support, the best performers still had their results within the […]
Polls have been surprisingly unchanged
OTTAWA—As political summers go, 2011 was remarkably tumultuous. Digesting the results of the May 2 election would have been more than enough to keep politicos busy over the summer. The election of a Conservative majority, the historic breakthrough of the NDP, and the downfall of the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois—Canadian politics are rarely […]
To privatize or to keep public? We asked Canadians
OTTAWA—According to a new poll by Abacus Data, Canadians are least likely to believe that Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL), the Crown corporation responsible for managing Canada’s national nuclear energy program, should be privatized. Between June 23 and 24, before reports of AECL’s pending sale became public, Abacus Data surveyed 1,005 Canadians and asked […]
Tory majority in Ottawa and provinces could be coming
Earlier this month, the Conservative Party finally won a majority of seats in the House of Commons, a feat many had considered improbable in what had been Canada's fractured political landscape. And unless the voting intentions of Canadians in the five provinces slated for elections this fall change, Stephen Harper will have the pleasure of […]
Holy! Moly! What’s with the polls?
OTTAWA—Polls have been getting a lot of attention in this federal election campaign, and not only because of their sometimes eye-popping results. Disparities between numbers and wild swings in voting intentions have put more focus on the methodologies polling firms use, and whether they are the driving cause of these variations. Comparing one poll to […]
Canadians cool to nuclear power, but it’s a reality to many
OTTAWA—Since its inception, nuclear power has been a controversial topic among the public. Threats of nuclear war, comic book characters created by accidental doses of radiation and the apparent fragility of reactors have all contributed, rightly or not, to these attitudes. Science says nuclear power is a relatively safe, clean way of generating power; but […]
Which poll is right? Making sense of all election polls
OTTAWA—It’s election time again and we know one thing for certain: polls will be a plenty. They will tell us which parties are up and which are down, who we like and dislike, and what issues we care most about. However, at the beginning of last week, three polls were released that reported very different […]
Harper and Duceppe well-positioned as campaign begins
A new election campaign is underway, but the polls show that the parties are more or less where they were on Oct. 14, 2008, when Canadians were last asked to cast their ballots. As the buses start rolling and the planes start flying their cargoes of politicians and journalists back and forth across the country, […]
