(01/20/11) -

Canadians Offer Mixed Reviews on the Effect of Harper’s Government

Conservative voters believe Canada now plays a more constructive role on the world stage, but most opposition supporters disagree.

Canadians are split in their assessment of various topics on the fifth anniversary of Stephen Harper’s tenure as Prime Minister, a new Angus Reid / Toronto Star poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,008 Canadian adults, 30 per cent of respondents say they are better off now than they were five years ago, while 29 per cent are about the same, and 38 per cent report being worse off now.

Personal Finances

One-in-four Canadians (26%) say their current personal financial situation is excellent or good, while 32 per cent deem it poor or awful. However, more than a third of Canadians (36%) say they are now more pessimistic about their own financial situation than five years ago.

Safety

Three-in-five Canadians (58%) rate the level of safety in their own community as excellent or good, while only nine per cent deem it poor or awful. However, 22 per cent of respondents claim that they feel less safe now than five years ago.

International Relations

Two-in-five Canadians (38%) rate Canada’s current role in the world stage as excellent or good, while one-in-five (21%) consider it as poor or awful. While three-in-five Conservatives (60%) are happy with Canada’s role in international relations, less than a third of respondents who voted for other parties in 2008 concur.

More than a third of respondents (37%) say that Canada’s role in the world has not changed since 2006, but three-in-ten (29%) believe the country now plays a less constructive role than it did five years ago—including a majority of Liberal Party voters (51%) and Bloc Québécois voters (59%).

Harper’s Tenure

Two-in-five Canadians (43%) believe Stephen Harper has performed in about the same fashion as they expected when he first took office five years ago, while one third (34%) think he has done worse. Only 12 per cent of respondents think Harper has performed better than they expected.

Quebecers are particularly critical of Harper, with three-in-five (60%) saying he has performed worse than they originally expected. Conversely, 22 per cent of Albertans, 19 per cent of respondents in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and 16 per cent of British Columbians say Harper has done better than they anticipated.

More than a third of Conservative voters (36%) say Harper has been a better prime minister than they envisioned, but less than one-in-ten respondents who voted for the other federal parties concur.

Analysis

Canadians are not particularly concerned with the issue of public safety at this point, and their views on personal finances are reasonably similar—even after party allegiance is factored in. The key disparity is on international relations. The Conservative base appears to provide a ringing endorsement for the current prime minister’s actions on the world stage, but supporters of the opposition parties are very critical of Canada’s current role.

When it comes to the “better off” question, the sentiments are mixed. More Grits than Tories acknowledge that their situation is roughly the same, and New Democratic Party (NDP) supporters are above the national average on being better off now than in 2006.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Jaideep Mukerji, Vice President, Public Affairs, Canada
+613 691 0948
jaideep.mukerji@visioncritical.com

Methodology: From January 13 to January 14, 2011, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,008 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

Jaideep Mukerji discusses the findings on CTV.